Redland residents are being warned to have enough supplies to last a couple of days and have an evacuation plan as wild weather bears down on the coastline.
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Redland council has told people to contact the SES or Brisbane or Logan councils for sandbags after a backlog of requests for bags at the South Street depot.
Sandbags are available from depots or by calling the SES on 132 500 and road closure information is available by calling 131 940 or on the website.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting up to 200mm of rainfall today with dangerous surf, tidal inundation and beach erosion expected.
The high rainfall will coincide with some of the biggest tides of the year, particularly on Friday.
Disruptions to ferry and barge services are likely around the high tide today which is a king tide of 8.8ft (2.7m) at 10.20am on Thursday and again on Friday.
Redland council said Leslie Harrison Dam was likely to spill due to the amount of rainfall.
Seqwater Chief Executive Officer Peter Dennis said no dam gate releases were planned for Wivenhoe, North Pine or Somerset dams.
Council said it expected it to impact on low-lying areas such as the Capalaba Greyhound track.
Seqwater and Council have contacted businesses and community groups expected to be impacted.
Sandbags are available by calling the SES on 132 500 and road closure information is available by calling 131 940 or visithttp://131940.qld.gov.au.
Council has put its disaster management team on alert.
Always contact 000 in a life-threatening emergency.
The advice comes as as the Bureau of Meteorology predicts a low-pressure system heading towards Gladstone could develop into a category 2 tropical cyclone by the time it makes landfall.
The system is expected to bring destructive winds, flooding and as much as two months' rain in a day to the south-east.
Forecasters predict as much as 100m of rain will fall in coastal areas from Gladstone to the New South Wales border on Thursday before the skies open up to dump 200-400mm on Friday. Up to 500m is possible in isolated areas.
Preparations began in earnest on Wednesday as the State Disaster Coordination Centre at Kedron opened and the State Disaster Coordination Group met to discuss its approach.
SES volunteers at Brisbane's Newmarket depot handed out more than 6500 sandbags with similar numbers at the city's other four depots.
Brisbane City SES Unit local controller Lowry Boyd warned flooding was possible in low-lying areas from Thursday and all-but guaranteed on Friday.
"The 100mm over 24 hours (on Thursday), some minor problems we're expecting from that," he said.
"On Friday, if we have the 300mm over a relatively short period of time we're going to experience a lot of problems but if that 300mm is spread over the 24 hours, we're only talking about 12-15mm an hour and while it sounds a lot in total, it's not going to be as bad as what people sort of think.
"But if you have that 300mm drop in five or six hours, no creek or catchment is going to handle that and we're going to have some wider scale flooding."
Council wants residents to check roofs and guttering, remove loose objects from yards and most of all to keep out of flood waters.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Acting Commissioner Katarina Carroll said it was vital people were prepared for the fast moving storm.
"Make sure that you do have emergency plans in place, that you can sustain yourself and your family for a few days if you need to and heed that message about keeping out of flooded waters, particularly children playing in drains and cars crossing floodways," she said.
"Unfortunately Queensland Fire actually rescue more people from flooded water every year than they do from house fires."
Wind gusts of up to 90km/h and wild seas are expected to accompany the heavy rainfall.
Lifeguards closed several unprotected beaches on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts on Wednesday as the seas became too dangerous to handle.
Gold Coast beaches will be closed from Thursday morning but Sunshine Coast lifeguards are yet to make a decision.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has issued a storm alert for state forests in the south east, warning temporary closures were possible.
Brisbane City Council has announced some on-street will be closed from 6am Thursday and cars parked in some other areas could be at risk.
