North Queensland is bracing this morning as Cyclone Debbie is set to cross the coast as a destructive category 4.
Tropical cyclone Debbie is expected to bring 120km/h winds and gusts of 240km/h, with tens of thousands of Queenslanders urged to evacuate.
Cyclone Debbie was upgraded to a category 3 yesterday, and the Bureau of Meteorology was expecting it to become a category 4 before making landfall between Ayr and Cape Hillsborough - north of Mackay - about 9am on Tuesday.
Ayr, Bowen, Hamilton Island, Airlie Beach and Townsville were likely to be in the firing line.
People living in low-lying areas in Mackay were urged to evacuate on Monday afternoon due to a predicted storm surge of up to 2.5 metres, with up to 25,000 people affected and residents told to prepare for flooding.
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart urged people to drive to the conditions while getting out of the Mackay area, and also take care of their neighbours.
"That's the Queensland, the Australian way," he said.
A 31-year-old woman died in a car crash at Cannon Valley, near Proserpine, about 8am on Monday, with the incident linked to weather.
Residents in the Midge Point, Whitsunday, Burdekin, Cungulla and Cleveland Palms areas have also been told to evacuate.
People living on Palm Island were advised to stay inside their homes from sunset until emergency services advised the weather was clear.
Widespread daily rainfall totals of 150-250mm, with isolated falls of 500mm, were expected to lead to major river flooding over a broad area next week.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the cyclone was due to be a category 4 by 1am on Tuesday.
"The residents of Bowen at this stage would feel a big impact from this cyclone," she said.
"I would rather take these precautionary measures now than have people's lives put at risk."
Australian Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin said Defence was well-positioned to provide immediate assistance to communities within the storm zone, in coordination with state and local disaster management authorities, if requested.
As a precaution, HMAS Choules left Sydney on Monday for Queensland, with two Navy MRH90 helicopters deployed to Oakey.
Air Force aircraft in Townsville, Amberley and Darwin were also on standby to deliver essential supplies and equipment.
More than 800 energy workers were on standby to help restore power when flood waters receded and the debris was cleared, with crews deployed from the Ipswich area on Monday.
Experts said the biggest threat from cyclones, such as Debbie, was typically huge storm surges that could inundate low-lying coastal regions, rather than the winds.
"More people have historically died from storm surges than the wind damage," Jonathan Nott, a specialist in extreme weather at James Cook University.
"[Yasi] literally swept houses ... off their foundations and they were totally gone," Professor Nott said. "Others were destroyed."
The cyclone was expected to make landfall close to the 9.45am high tide timing at Bowen, according to the weather bureau, which could intensify the storm's impact.
Taxi drivers in Townsville, Mackay, the Whitsundays, Burdekin and Ayr offered to evacuate residents for free.
Police door-knocking Cungulla and Cape Cleveland, about 40 minutes south of Townsville, were telling residents to leave but not forcing them out.
They suggested fewer than one in five residents had elected to stay.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said authorities could not force people to leave.
"If people choose to remain in harm's way and something happens, don't expect us to come and get you," she said.
Bowen residents were bracing themselves for what they said would be the worst cyclone to hit the town since the 1950s, with thousands of people told to evacuate.
Bowen has a population of about 10,000 but space for only 800 in its cyclone shelter, prompting a warning for residents in flood-prone areas to leave the region before Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast.
Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Andrew Willcox said people who could not leave should stay with friends or family in "high, dry places".
More than 100 schools were closed along the coast and shopfronts were being boarded up and filled with sandbags.
Mackay and Townsville airports have been closed.
In Bowen, Graham Wilson spray painted 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".
Mr Wilson said he painted the sign to lift people's spirits.
"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," he said.
But Mr Wilson, who has lived in Bowen for 40 years, said he did not want to sound unconcerned as the town would likely sustain serious damage.
"We have not had a cyclone like this since '58," he said.
Stefan Seyffer and Vincent White helped other residents fill sandbags and said many people living in evacuation zones were choosing to stay because of their pets.
"We've got an elderly lady living next door so we'll stay to help," Mr Seyffer said.
- Rachel Clun, Toby Crockford, Jorge Branco, Peter Hannam, Felicity Caldwell