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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.
Tropical Cyclone Debbie has been downgraded to a category three system having made landfall near Airlie Beach on Tuesday afternoon as a slow-moving category four system. Vision courtesy ABC News 24
Tourists bunker down and brave the "incredible noise" of Cyclone Debbie as it smashes into Hamilton Island, Airlie Beach and Bowen at lunch time on Tuesday.
With Cyclone Debbie bearing down on northern Queensland, residents are warned "it's not safe to be outside" as emergency services say they are "prepared and ready" for impact. Courtesy ABC News 24
Streets have emptied in the low-lying town of Ayr, 100km north of Bowen, as anxious residents prepare for the worst and emergency services begin to bunker down, with people warned if they aren't ready by now, it's "too late... no one will be coming to help". Courtesy ABC News 24.