Mr Abbott is visiting an SES Depot where Brisbane City Council staff and volunteers are filling sandbags ahead of forecasts some 3600 residential homes could be affected by floods in the next few days.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk will also be helping at the depot.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan, meanwhile, has visited Goodna, in Ipswich city, west of Brisbane, where residents have also been put on flood alert.

On Twitter, Mr Swan said: Just visited some homes in Enid St Goodna where people are evacuating-great to see so many people turning up offering to help #qldspirit’’

Mr Swan said five more Queensland areas were declared eligible for disaster assistance overnight: the Fraser Coast, Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Moreton Bay and North Burnett local government areas.

This meant 34 Queensland council areas were now eligible.

As Mr Swan visited flood-hit southeast Queensland properties, Prime Minister Julia Gillard was touring parts of Victoria affected by bushfires.

Ms Gillard visited the Heyfield Incident Control Centre with Premier Ted Baillieu and Deputy Premier Peter Ryan for a briefing with senior officials.

She then toured fire-affected areas at McEvoy’s Point in Seaton, ahead of a morning tea with CFA and community volunteers.