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A mission to save a tiny, waterlogged koala joey found shivering on the flooded banks of the Brisbane river has proved successful.

The marsupial, dubbed Raine, is now dry, warm and rested thanks to the quick-thinking of a Queensland family.

However the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has fears "potentially" thousands of native animals have been displaced or killed by the floods inundating New South Wales and south-east Queensland.

The flooding crisis comes less than a month after koalas were officially declared an endangered species in NSW, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.

LIVE COVERAGE: More storms for NSW, Queensland

Darcy Modina and her family first spotted Raine and her mother on their 10 acres of Brisbane River-front land at Wivenhoe Pocket a few months ago.

But on Saturday the Modinas spotted the young koala in trouble; she was drenched and trembling near the river edge, her mum was not to been.

When evacuation orders came in Ms Modina knew she couldn't leave Raine behind.

FLOOD CRISIS: SEND US YOUR WEATHER PICTURES AND VIDEOS VIA THIS FORM

"As soon as we wrapped the towel around her she was open to being warm and letting us hold her," Ms Modina said.

"She wasn't scared at all, just exhausted."

Raine found her way to the Somerset Sanctuary where she was nurtured back to full health by owner Petrina Paidel.

READ MORE: What to do if you come across an injured or displaced native animal

"A truck pulled up and handed me a green bag with a koala in it. She was still soaking wet. I decided to call her Raine for obvious reasons," Ms Paidel said.

"I dried her off and collected some leaf and prepared special milk formula and she ate nonstop for days. She's been the perfect house guest".

Raine has since been placed into the care of Marilyn Spletter, who has hand-reared more than 120 baby koalas.

Fears for native animals as crisis continues

While Raine's story proved to have a happy ending, WWF fears for countless other native animals.

"There are potentially thousands more wildlife victims in Queensland and New South Wales still awaiting rescue after record rainfall," WWF said.

Animal rescue group WIRES told 9news.com.au the office has fielded over 100 flood-related wildlife rescue calls across its Clarence Valley and Northern Rivers branch areas.

A spokesperson said communications are being hampered in the Northern Rivers region due to flood affected power lines and towers but in the metro areas, calls are beginning to come in from Moorebank, Cobbitty and the Hawkesbury area.

"We are expecting these flood related calls to continue as the waters subside and native animals that have been forced out of their habitat seek food and dry ground," the spokesperson said.

Among the successful WIRES rescues was a waterlogged possum on a porch in Mascot.

Ongoing wet weather is hampering rescue efforts, as wildlife careers can't access hard-hit areas.

In response to this the WWF have started an emergency flood appeal for wildlife.

"These floods have left many animals stranded and wildlife carers and vets in desperate need of help," Dr Prishani Vengetas, a veterinarian and WWF-Australia's Wildlife Recovery Project Coordinator said.

"Orphans like Raine will require specialist care if they're going to survive, so we'll be working to deploy funds where they're needed most.

"Once the waters subside, we'll also help flood-damaged tree planting projects – critical to the survival of koalas – get back on track."

Wet weather to continue across two states

The extreme wet weather is far from over, with flood-affected communities in northern NSW and south-east Queensland bracing for more storms.

Thunderstorm activity will renew over the weekend, the BoM said.

"Widespread showers and thunderstorms activity developing across eastern NSW, from the mid-north coast all the way down to the Victorian border and extending inland Sunday and Monday," senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.

An evacuation order has been re-issued for parts of Lower Portland along the Hawkesbury River north-west of Sydney.

As of 10.45 am this morning, there are more than 154 evacuation notifications across NSW; these are split into evacuation orders and warnings.

Meanwhile, Queensland residents are being urged to remain vigilant amid potential storms this afternoon.

QFES Deputy Commissioner Mike Wassing says it's too early to tell where storms will hit.

"The prediction's that these storms will probably roll in this afternoon and so we are supporting the local communities in terms of clean-up operations," he told Today.

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France has seized a yacht owned by Russian oligarch Igor Sechin, the French finance ministry said in a statement.

Sechin is the CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft.

The European Union sanctioned Sechin earlier this week, describing him as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend."

LIVE UPDATES: Putin claims invasion 'going to plan'

LIVE UPDATES: More storms barrelling towards Queensland

The yacht, named "Amore Vero" — or "True Love" in Italian — arrived at the French Mediterranean port of La Ciotat in January.

It was scheduled to leave the port on April 1.

"Thank you to the French customs officers who are enforcing the European Union's sanctions against those close to the Russian government," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a tweet.

Sechin was deputy prime minister of Russia from 2008 until 2012.

READ MORE: France warns 'worst yet to come' in Ukraine conflict

https://twitter.com/BrunoLeMaire/status/1499326925587767296

The European Union said his connections to Putin are "long and deep," with the two men maintaining daily contact.

Earlier this week, Le Maire announced that France has set up a task force to complete a census of financial assets and luxury goods owned by Russian personalities targeted by EU sanctions.

BP said on Sunday that it would exit its 19.75 per cent stake in Rosneft and give up two seats on the company's board.

US President Joe Biden has imposed new sanctions on eight members of the Russian elite, along with members of their families, as he warned Russia is intensifying its bloody invasion of Ukraine with indiscriminate bombing.

The new sanctions are the Biden administration's latest attempt to squeeze Russian President Vladimir Putin as the invasion of Ukraine advances.

"The goal is to maximise the impact on Putin and Russia," Mr Biden said, accusing the oligarchs he is targeting of lining "their pockets with Russian people's money while Ukraine and the people are hiding in the subway from missiles that are being fired indiscriminately."

LIVE UPDATES: Grim warning 'worst yet to come' in Ukraine

"Our interest is to maintain the strongest unified economic campaign on Putin in all history, and I think we're really on the way to doing that," Mr Biden said.

The new list of individuals described as "Putin's cronies and their family members" will be cut off from the US financial system, their assets in the US will be frozen and their property will be blocked from use, according to a fact sheet from the White House.

There will be full blocking sanctions on eight Russian elites, plus their family members and associates.

READ MORE: Russians besiege Ukrainian ports as armoured column stalls

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1499465930706980866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It includes a move to target Putin ally Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, "one of Russia's wealthiest individuals," according to the White House, and will include his super-yacht and private jet.

The US is also sanctioning Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, whom the White House describes as "a top purveyor of Putin's propaganda."

"The United States and governments all over the world will work to identify and freeze the assets Russian elites and their family members hold in our respective jurisdictions – their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains," the fact sheet said.

READ MORE: Ukrainians urged to wage 'guerilla war' as Russian forces advance

According to the White House, the individuals who will be subject to full blocking sanctions are:

– Nikolai Tokarev (along with his wife Galina, daughter Mayya and two luxury real estate companies)

– Boris Rotenberg (along with wife Karina, and sons Roman and Boris)

– Arkady Rotenberg (along with sons Pavel and Igor and daughter Liliya)

– Sergei Chemezov (along with wife Yekaterina, son Stanislav and stepdaughter Anastasiya)

– Igor Shuvalov (along with five companies, wife Olga, son Evgeny, his company and jet, daughter Maria and her company)

– Yevgeniy Prigozhin (along with his three companies, wife, Polina, daughter Lyubov, and son Pavel)

– Peskov, Putin's press secretary

– Alisher Usmanov

The US will also impose visa restrictions on 19 oligarchs and 47 of their family members and close associates, the fact sheet from the White House said.

Mr Biden has vowed to go after the "ill-begotten gains" of Russian oligarchs, including their private jets, luxury apartments and yachts

READ MORE: The weapons of the Ukraine conflict

Russian forces have battled for control of a vital energy-producing city in Ukraine's south and also gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea, as Ukrainian leaders called on citizens to wage guerrilla war against the invaders.

The fighting at Enerhodar, a city on the Dnieper River that accounts for about one-quarter of the country's power generation, came as the two sides met for another round of talks and agreed on establishing humanitarian corridors for civilians.

The mayor of Enerhodar, the site of the biggest nuclear plant in Europe, said Ukrainian forces were battling Russian troops on the city's outskirts. Dmytro Orlov urged residents not to leave their homes.

LIVE UPDATES: Putin insists invasion 'going to plan'

Moscow's advance on Ukraine's capital in the north has apparently stalled, with a huge armoured column outside Kyiv at a standstill. And stiffer than expected resistance from the outmanned, outgunned Ukrainians has staved off the swift victory that Russia may have expected.

A top Russian officer, Major-General Andrei Sukhovetsky, commander of an airborne division, was killed in the fighting earlier this week, an officers organisation in Russia reported.

But the Russians have brought their superior firepower to bear in the past few days, launching missile and artillery attacks on civilian areas and making significant gains in the south as part of an effort to sever the country's connection to the Black and Azov seas.

READ MORE: International Criminal Court begins investigation into possible war crimes, genocide

Cutting Ukraine's access to the coastline would deal a crippling blow to the country's economy and allow Russia to build a land corridor stretching from its border, across Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, and all the way west to Romania.

The Russians announced the capture of Kherson, and local Ukrainian officials confirmed that forces have taken over local government headquarters in the vital Black Sea port of 280,000, making it the first major city to fall since the invasion began a week ago.

Heavy fighting continued on the outskirts of another strategic port, Mariupol, on the Azov Sea, plunging it into darkness, isolation and fear. Electricity and phone service were largely down, and homes and shops faced food and water shortages.

Without phone connections, medics did not know where to take the wounded.

READ MORE: US forms special squad to seize Russian superyachts

The Russian military announced advances in the Mariupol area on Thursday morning.

Ukrainian authorities called on the people to defend their homeland against Putin's forces by cutting down trees, erecting barricades in the cities and attacking enemy columns from the rear.

"Total resistance. … This is our Ukrainian trump card and this is what we can do best in the world," Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovich said in a video message, recalling guerrilla actions in Nazi-occupied Ukraine during World War II.

At least 227 civilians have been killed and 525 wounded, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, though it acknowledged that is a vast undercount, and Ukraine earlier said more than 2,000 civilians have died. That figure could not be independently verified.

READ MORE: The weapons of the Ukraine conflict