While Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk played down the chances of disaster, she said the state was in for yet another spring and summer of higher than average rainfall.

“These conditions could be similar to the conditions that we saw over the summer this year,” she said after a Cabinet briefing by the Bureau of Meteorology.

“I will be monitoring things very carefully.

“The next step the government will be taking is to talk to all of the mayors just to make sure we are very well prepared and to see how everybody is going with the implementations of the recommendations from the last flooding event.”

She said it was good to have a “heads up” so early about what to expect as the state moved into warmer weather and residents could get ready for another wet season.

“I don’t want Queenslanders to get alarmed but what we do want to see is people to be prepared,” she said.

Queensland experienced one of its most devastating flood events in February, when 18 people died and thousands of homes and businesses were inundated.

The weather bureau’s senior meteorologist Laura Boekel said the usual winter cycle of the ground drying in time to absorb spring rains had not occurred this year.

“We have not seen any of the ground dry up across most of Queensland. The soil remains quite moist,” she said.

“We are still expecting to see a wetter than average end to winter as well as spring.”

“That means that we’re gearing up for a season that could see increased flooding.