When Bowen man Graham Wilson couldn't sleep at 2am on Monday, he decided the best thing to do was spraypaint his white picket fence with a message for Cyclone Debbie.
"Cyclone Debbie bring it on Bowen is not a pussy town do your best you got," the painted sign reads.
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Bowen resident Graham Wilson wanted to "break the ice" by painting a sign daring Cyclone Debbie to "do your best".
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Cyclone Debbie: 'bring it on'
Bowen resident Graham Wilson wanted to "break the ice" by painting a sign daring Cyclone Debbie to "do your best".
"It means we'll cop it and move on," he said.
As Bowen residents brace themselves for what they say will be the worst cyclone to hit the town since 1958, Mr Wilson said he painted the sign to try to lift people's spirits.
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"Everybody's on edge," he said.
"It's basically to put a smile on people's faces. Bowen's a lot bigger than Cyclone Debbie so give us what you've got."
However Mr Wilson, who has lived in Bowen for 40 years, said he did not want to sound unconcerned as the town would sustain serious damage.
"We have not had a cyclone like this since '58," he said.
Cyclone Debbie is expected to have winds more severe than Cyclone Yasi did in 2011, and 2000 people have been told to evacuate from Bowen alone.
As the category 3 cyclone heads towards the northern Whitsundays coast - tracking almost directly towards Bowen - residents have been working together to make sure everyone is prepared.
Locals Stefan Seyffer and Vincent White had been helping other residents fill sandbags all morning.
Mr Seyffer, who lives on high ground, said many residents even in the evacuation zones were choosing to stay because of their pets.
"Where do you go? We've got a couple of birds, a dog," he said.
"We've got an elderly lady living next door so we'll stay to help."
With plenty of supplies and their yards tidied away, the men said they just came back down to help others.
"My house is right, so I thought I'd come down and help," Mr Seyffer said.
Mr White said it was what neighbours should do.
"A cyclone's coming, you gotta help."