Hundreds of residents have been told to “leave immediately” as floodwaters rise in a regional Queensland city known for making Bundaberg Rum.

People living in Bundaberg North, South, East and Central are under evacuation orders amid major flooding of the Burnett River, which dissects the city.

The river was expected to hit seven metres at 3pm (AEST), which would cause the closure of two bridges, and continue to rise to 7.5 metres around midnight.

When the Burnett River reaches seven metres, the Tallon and Burnett Bridges will close.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that flooding could match the disaster that struck the town in December 2010.

Bundaberg, in central Queensland, is a cane and crop-growing region known for the Bundaberg Rum Distillery and Bundaberg Ginger Beer.

Further inland in Mundubbera, the weather bureau warned that the Burnett was expected to pass the major flood threshold of 18 metres on Tuesday afternoon.

Gayndah residents were also urged to take shelter at the local community hall, with the North Burnett Regional Council issuing a flood emergency warning.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people in the affected area should follow flood advice and warnings.

He warned motorists not to drive through floodwaters, after several rescues of people from inside or on top of vehicles in the past 48 hours, including a child from Bargara, near Bundaberg.

“If it’s flooded, forget it – we can’t say it too many times,” he said.

“If people follow that advice, we’ll continue to provide support, as we always do, with the state and territory governments.”

There was a mighty sting in the tail of Tropical Low 29U, which formed in the Coral Sea last week before moving first inland into north-west Queensland, then veering south-east back towards the coast.

It saved some of the most intense rainfall as it made its exit between Gladstone and Bundaberg, with several places getting up to 180 millimetres of rain in just a few hours.

The BOM said catchments across Queensland were already wet to saturated and would respond quickly to further heavy rainfall.

Multiple flood warnings remain active across the state.

The rain had contracted offshore by Tuesday morning, with only seasonal coastal showers remaining as conditions eased below warning thresholds.

In the Northern Territory, residents in Katherine are assessing damage after their river topped major flood levels and swamped homes.

Hundreds of residents from the inundated remote communities of Daly River, Palumpa, Beswick and Jilkminggan were evacuated at the weekend, most in a major airlift by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

In Katherine about 600 properties remained without power on Monday. The NT Health Department has issued a warning to residents to boil water because of the risk of contamination.

-with AAP