Australia Weather News

Residents in the Whitsundays in central Queensland have been urged not to drink tap water for the next few days due to health risks.

The area was battered by Cyclone Debbie on Tuesday, which made landfall as a category four system between Airlie Beach and Bowen.

Local authorities say the tap water may be discoloured with higher than normal bacteria levels.

People should use cooled, boiled water or bottled water if possible.

The message came at the end of a long day of clean-up and rescue missions for the region.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) said heavy rain from ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie on Wednesday night had left people stuck on top of their homes in the outlying suburb of Eton, but after checks on Thursday morning, all had been confirmed safe.

Aerial rescues were also conducted on Thursday morning, with 14 people from north Eton flown to an evacuation centre in West Mackay.

Tanya Ruffell, who was rescued with her family this morning, said while they had lost their home and cars they were glad to be safe.

News that all was well had been slow to filter out, as the flooded area had no phone or internet access.

Jen Petersen came to the rescue chopper landing site hoping to find her grandfather, who was one of those stranded at Eton, but could not track him down.

"He was out at Drapers Siding which was completely under, so I've just come here to see if he's been rescued and bring him back to my place in town," she said.

"I just don't know what's going on and it's just horrid, absolutely horrid not knowing if he's OK because there's no phones there's no internet."

Rick Bugeja turned up looking for his son, his wife and their three children, but said he too had heard nothing, admitting it was a worry.

"Especially when you can't find them."

QFES said 40 beachfront homes in Midge Point, north of Mackay, had flooded.

Five houses were found with all or part of their roofs damaged, but all residents were reported safe and well.

Emergency services have already rescued dozens from floodwaters and are warning people to stay away from affected areas.

However, Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster Matt Bass said a severe weather warning was cancelled for central Queensland and that the tropical low remaining from ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie was moving more quickly than Wednesday.

The overnight storm had hindered cyclone recovery efforts this morning, with flooding and fallen trees still blocking roads, phone lines down and many homes still without power.

Ergon Energy said households in Bowen and Mackay would be their priority over the next 24 hours, with about 58,000 customers still without power.

Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said Powerlink Queensland found 10 of its transmission towers southwest of Mackay badly damaged by Debbie.

"We have other routes up there to get the power to people," he said.

"The main issue is getting workers in there to repair the system itself, and we're seeing that situation start to improve and hopefully we will see more connections."

'The situation was horrendous'

By lunchtime on Thursday, the sun was shining in Proserpine as emergency crews finally began to reach the town.

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said evacuations were underway from the Whitsunday islands.

"Hamilton Island airstrip is now operational and there are evacuations taking place, or departures from Hamilton Island," she said.

"Daydream Island, we have the ADF [Australian Defence Force] landing with water, food and fuel and the capacity to evacuate some 200 people from Daydream Island."

In Bowen, residents remained anxious after enduring another night without power as torrential rain continues to fall on the already saturated town.

Earlier, Whitsunday Mayor Andrew Willcox said recovery efforts had been stalled by a storm that hit the coast last night, and he had called on the Army to help.

"I've got Bowen cut off on both sides, I've got Proserpine cut off on both sides, and I've got Airlie Beach cut off on both sides so it makes access difficult ... we need to get generators in," he said.

"We're going to call on the military to help us bring some gen-sets [generators] in so we can get essential services up and running."

Mackay saw a significant amount of rainfall and activity in the area on Wednesday night with the SES reporting a sudden increase in calls for help to emergency services.

"The situation was horrendous last night, with more rain and more wind hampering the rescue operations," QFES Commissioner Katarina Carroll said.

Flood warnings have been issued for Pioneer River, Burdekin River, Don River and Proserpine River.

Parts of the region have seen more than 250mm of rain in the past 24 hours, however the Bureau of Meteorology said river levels are easing in the lower Pioneer.

Prime Minister visiting cyclone-hit areas

The defence force had set up operations in Proserpine and the navy ship HMAS Choules was on its way to the Whitsundays loaded with specialist equipment.

Two helicopters were operating in the area where two people had been successfully rescued.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten landed in north Queensland and were touring the cyclone-ravaged town of Bowen on Thursday morning, as the full extent of the damage continued to emerge.

Mr Turnbull said the largest pre-deployment of defence personnel for a natural disaster in Australia's history was underway.

Ms Palaszczuk said Mr Turnbull would get some perspective about the challenges ahead after visiting the region.

"I think when he sees it first hand, he'll understand the extent of the damage and the fact that we need to get some necessary supplies into places like Proserpine that have been cut off," Ms Palaszczuk said.

She said contingency plans were in place, including extra swiftwater rescue reinforcements from interstate.

"We'll be watching that weather system every step of the way as it moves gradually down our coast," she said.

"What it goes to show you is we have a very, very large state here and this is a very, very big weather system that's going to wreak havoc all the way down the coast."

Affected people living in Mackay and Whitsundays areas can apply for immediate grants of up to $180 per person or up to $900 for a family of five or more.

"People are in need of fresh food, drinking water, medication and clothing," Communities Minister Shannon Fentiman said.

"We understand people are doing it tough. There's significant damage to many homes and we want people to know help is available."