The Milton Road Exit from Hale Street is temporarily closed as council workers try to fix the collapsed sewer pit.

There are major delays southbound along Hale St and onto the Inner CIty Bypass and the council is asking drivers to avoid the area.

Heavy rain has caused localised flooding on several  Brisbane roads. Authorities are warning people to obey road closures, drive with caution and avoid flood waters.

Earlier: Several of Brisbane's most important roads have flooded as a massive downpour continues to soak the city.

Ipswich Rd, Gympie Arterial Rd and Kingsford Smith Dr are all affected, as Brisbane's roads and drainage struggle to cope with the heavy rain.

Police say the off-ramp from Gympie Arterial Rd to Strathpine Rd is completely blocked by water and Kingsford Smith Dr, Hamilton, is flooded in both directions.

There's water over the road in both directions on Ipswich Rd in Woolloongabba, and Creek Rd, Carina, while debris is blocking traffic on Gladstone Rd, Dutton Park.

There are also reports of a tree down on the Inner City Bypass at North Quay and flooding on the Centenary Highway at Jindalee and Nudgee Rd at Hamilton.

The #Ipswich motorway looks more like a European autobahn in winter today! #rain @7NewsBrisbane pic.twitter.com/1DECVpXxNn — Chris Campey (@Chris_Campey) January 22, 2015

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain, possibly leading to flash flooding, for Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Caloundra following falls of up to 80mm in the past two hours in the greater Brisbane area.

Overnight, Deagon was lashed with 74mm from midnight to 6.30am, Aspley had 57mm and the city itself took in 39mm, mostly since 3am.

The weather at Cannon Hill......#bneweather #rain #brisbaneweather pic.twitter.com/l8eRm0C84J — Ed Stott (@Edwina_Stott) January 22, 2015

BOM forecaster Dean Narramore said the high tide peaked earlier in the week but there were still concerns for more flooding.

"Obviously with some of the heavier showers we could see some urban street flooding or some brief flash flooding in parts with the heaviest rain, where drains get blocked or that sort of thing," he said.

"We won't see thunderstorms or rain as heavy as that. It won't be as bad as what we saw in Central Queensland but it should be a pretty wet day in the Brisbane area."

The downpour soaking Brisbane is from the same low pressure system that has been drenching the state's centre, causing flooding in Gladstone, Mackay and other areas of the state. More than 220mm fell west of Emerald in two days and Gladstone copped just under 200mm in the same period.

The view of Brisbane city from the top of Kangaroo Point cliffs right now. ☔️ #whatcity? #bneweather @TheTodayShow pic.twitter.com/9yl86WxmM4 — Aislin Kriukelis (@AislinKriukelis) January 22, 2015

The system was beginning to hit Brisbane's southside on Friday morning.

The bureau is predicting 30-60mm of rain for most of Brisbane on Friday, with up to 100mm in some areas.

"It should be another wet foggy day across much of the brisbane region," Mr Narramore said.

"We should see showers and rain periods continue for most of the day and start easing up towards the end of the day or early evening."

Train lines are all still running as normal but buses travelling through Rocklea, and along Creek Rd in Cannon Hill are experiencing delays of between 15 and 20 minutes.

The Queensland Ambulance Service is warning drivers, "if it's flooded, forget it".

You can find more traffic details here.

Brisbane City SES teams are currently responding to around 20 calls for assistance across the City from this morning's heavy rain. — Brisbane City SES (@SESBrisbane) January 22, 2015