Australia Weather News

Torrential rain is falling in Mackay and local authorities have issued a storm surge warning as Tropical Cyclone Debbie makes its presence felt in the north Queensland city.

The city's streets are all but deserted as people bunker down ahead of the cyclone's arrival.

Thousands of north Queenslanders are being evacuated as Debbie bears down on the coast, bringing winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour and possibly a four-metre storm surge.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has warned the storm will be the worst since Cyclone Yasi in 2011,and the Premier said it was "bigger than Marcia" — the category five system that hit Queensland in 2015.

The latest BOM cyclone tracking map predicts Debbie will cross the coast near Bowen about 8:00am on Tuesday as a category four system.

At 2:00pm, Debbie was still category three and estimated to be 355 kilometres east of Townsville and 215km east-north-east of Bowen, moving south-west at 10kph.

Many locals have expressed nervousness, and some have refused to leave their homes.

A tourist has died on the road near Proserpine, with Police Commissioner Ian Stewart saying the death was "associated with this weather event".

Evacuation orders are in place for low-lying areas in parts of the Burdekin, Whitsundays, and parts of the Townsville council regions.

About 3,500 people have left their homes and another 2,000 will be asked to leave around Bowen.

"You're going to see people without power for some time, large trees down, roofs damaged," meteorologist Adam Blazak said.

"You want to be inside. You're going to see large flying debris. Obviously caravans don't usually stand a chance. You usually see them completely destroyed."

'We haven't seen a cyclone like this': Mayor

Forced evacuations have been completed but Burdekin Shire Mayor Lyn McLaughlin said she said she knew of a couple of people who had not left and police had been visiting those who had not followed orders.

"They don't understand the severity. This is a major cyclone. We haven't seen a cyclone like this," she said.

"People who stay, they stay at their own risk.

"They are given notice that once the winds get to 100 kilometres no-one is going to come to their assistance."

Cyclone shelters have opened in Bowen and Proserpine, but authorities said they were only for people who had no other options.

The local ports have been closed and schools from Ayr to Proserpine are closed today, with as many as 74 likely to be closed from tomorrow onwards.

'Staying with my Harley'

Graham Lawrence was finishing preparations to his home this morning in the beachside community of Cungulla, before he evacuates to Townsville, in the north.

"Everyone's a bit nervous," he said.

"We're heading up to Townsville to stay with our son and daughter-in-law, up in Pimlico, and their place went through Yasi OK so I presume we'll get through this one OK.

"We can pop a champagne and have a couple of drinks and keep our fingers crossed."

Mike Kennedy is staying behind with his prized motorbike.

He reckons 40 per cent of Cungulla residents were staying, despite the advice to leave.

"The council doesn't do much for us and now we've got the council out the front, parading around, well, I'd like to say some bad stuff to them," he said.

"We are left to our own devices out here if we stay, which we are.

"Everyone's in the same basket.

"We'll just give it a go and rally together. Aussie Aussie Aussie type thing, you know? Oi oi oi and all that.

"We made the decision to stay but ... the police can come and say what they want.

"This is our block of dirt and we're going to defend it from the storm if we can."

Nursing homes are being evacuated, including the 168 residents at Good Shepherd Lodge in Mackay.

Amongst those moving on are 95-year-old Ethel Johnson, who is not worried about the cyclone.

She has endured a few in her lifetime, including one in Normanton in the 1960s.

"One that took the roof off the hospital where I was working," she said.

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said only southern areas of the city were being forced to evacuate.

Although Townsville is not directly in the firing line, it is still expected to be hit with category three winds.

QFES warns of massive storm surge

Up to 300mm of rain is forecast to fall around Bowen and Ayr on Tuesday.

BOM has specifically warned residents between Lucinda and Mackay of a dangerous storm tide when the cyclone crosses the coast.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) commissioner Katarina Carroll said the biggest concern was not just the wind, but the rain and the storm surge that would follow.

She said it could be anywhere between two and four metres.

State Disaster Coordinator Steve Gollschewski said authorities were doing constant modelling on how many homes and where would be affected.

"If you are in a storm-surge home and you are directed to move, you need to move. You can shelter from wind in your house, you cannot shelter from storm surge," he said.

Cyclone Debbie 'bigger than Marcia': Premier

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it would be the first time a category four cyclone had hit the region.

She said Debbie was "bigger than Marcia", which made landfall as a category five system in a largely uninhabited area north of Yeppoon.

Ms Palaszczuk said she was concerned for the elderly and people with a disability who live in pre-1985 homes.

"The old homes will not sustain the impact," she said.

"Queenslanders are very tough. We know that. We have got a history of standing up to a lot of things that come our way.

"What we are seeing is this window of opportunity to leave is drastically closing."

About 1,000 extra emergency services personnel have flown into the region.

The Army is on standby and ready to help before and after the storm passes.

Authorities have also ensured the region does not run out of fuel and energy suppliers will ensure power is restored as quickly as possible after the event.