Bargara tornado
© Darren Curtis / Channel 9Devastation caused by a twister that tore through the Queensland town Bargara.
A sixth tornado has hit Queensland's Bundaberg region and forecasters say more could develop, including over Brisbane, as the day wears on.

The army has been put on standby and dam releases sped up in southeast Queensland as ex-cyclone Oswald moves south unleashing floods and the threat of more tornadoes.

Six tornadoes have hit Queensland's Bundaberg region in the past 24 hours and forecasters say more could develop later today, including on the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, and on the Gold Coast.

Hundreds of homes are at risk of flooding in the central Queensland cities of Gladstone and Bundaberg.

Floods are also expected at Gympie and Maryborough with Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine coasts, and northern NSW also on flood watch as the low pressure system that was Cyclone Oswald tracks south.

Premier Campbell Newman said he will probably call in the army to deal with the state's unfolding flood crisis.

Mr Newman inspected tornado damage at Bargara, near Bundaberg, and says the army would likely be called in to help authorities cope with the multiple fronts, with the Brisbane-based 7th Brigade on standby to provide support.

Meanwhile, water is being released from southeast Queensland dams at a rate of about 1000 cubic metres a second, three times faster than when the release began on Friday afternoon.

Mr Newman said that was still much slower than during the state's record floods in January 2011, when water was being released at a rate of 7000 cubic metres a second.

"I don't want people to be unduly worried. The dams can hold this water. The problem is, if we get a lot more rain but I can't control that," Mr Newman told radio 4BC this morning.

January 27, 2013: Record-breaking rain is causing floods around Queensland with emergency crews evacuating low-lying areas

"There's lots of flood storage capacity. Let's hope we don't get even higher rainfalls like they saw in Gladstone."

As the wild weather started to hit Brisbane city today, Mayor Graham Quirk appealed to residents not to panic.
He told the ABC 250mm of rain was expected over the next 24 hours, with winds up to 40 knots.

Mr Quirk said the areas most at risk were bayside communities that typically saw flooding during high tides, as well as those near low-lying tidal creeks.

Brisbane City Council has opened depots so residents can collect sandbags to protect their properties.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the city was also on alert, with minor localised flooding expected in low-lying areas from this afternoon.