THE damage bill in Rockhampton from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald is likely to exceed the cost of the 2011 floods, the Queensland city's deputy mayor says.
The Fitzroy River is expected to peak at 8.5 metres shortly after 3am (AEST) on Saturday and stay at that level for up to 36 hours.
Rockhampton deputy mayor Tony Williams says if the river goes that high, there will be water in 1000 backyards.
Some 580 blocks are already flooded.
The expected flood peak is below the 9.2 metres recorded in 2011, when more than 200 homes and businesses were inundated.
But Mr Williams said the ferocity of the latest storm would push a damage bill higher than it was two years ago.
"Indications are that it's going to be much higher than what we had in the 2011 event," Mr Williams told reporters on Friday.
"The flood was not the issue with a lot of the damage - it was the weather event we experienced prior to the flood."
Mr Williams said residents in low-lying locations such as Stanwell had experienced a rush of water that rivalled the force of floodwaters in Queensland's Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba in 2011.
"The ferocity of some of that water going through there, they were saying it was like Grantham without the bodies," he said.
Ergon Energy spokesman Bob Pleash told reporters 15 properties in low-lying areas such as Depot Hill and Berserker would be disconnected by Friday afternoon.
Police Superintendent Ron van Saane said the Yeppen Crossing on the Bruce Highway, south of Rockhampton, would remain open despite being under 10 centimetres of water.
"It's one lane in and one lane out and it's being managed by traffic controllers," he told reporters.
The Capricorn Highway between Rockhampton and Gracemere was closed on Friday.
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