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Tens of thousands of homes are without power across Townsville and surrounding areas after Cyclone Kirrily pummelled North Queensland with "very destructive" wind gusts of up to 170km/h.
The focus early this morning was gradually shifting to "life-threatening" flash flooding after the storm was downgraded to category 1 about midnight (1am AEDT).
It had been upgraded to a category 3 system at 3pm (4pm AEDT) and began crossing the coast just north-west of North Queensland's biggest city about five hours later.
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According to the Bureau of Meteorology, "very dangerous" peak wind gusts of up to 170km/h near the centre were easing before midnight.
Damaging wind gusts up to 120km/h were being felt near the coast and offshore islands between Cardwell and Ayr, including Townsville
About 9.30pm (10.30pm AEDT) yesterday, more than 34,000 homes and businesses were without power across much of Townsville and another 8700 in Burdekin Shire towns such as Ayr and Home Hill.
Power provider Ergon Energy and the State Emergency Service both warned residents earlier in the day their crews wouldn't be able to respond to emergencies while until after the storm passed.
"We are at the pointy end and Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is making its presence felt, causing power outages over a widespread area," Ergon said, after North Queenslanders were earlier this week warned to prepare for as long as a week in the dark.
"It's no longer safe to send our crews out in these conditions, so if you've lost power please be prepared for a wait."
The warning zone stretches from Innisfail to Ayr, including Townsville, and inland to Charters Towers. Affected residents were told to remain inside.
As the storm formed out in the Coral Sea and intensified on its way toward the coast, authorities repeatedly stressed the danger of flooding when the storm crossed the coast and weakened.
Late last night, the bureau warned intense rainfall might lead to "dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding" near the cyclone's path and less severe inundations as far away as Innisfail and Ayr.
That danger would spread further inland throughout Friday but unlike Cyclone Jasper, which dumped more than a metre of rain in parts as it lingered in the far north, Kirrily was moving at a decent clip of 22km/h.
"We could see isolated totals of up to 300 millimetres in a 24-hour period as this system crosses the coast," the bureau's Laura Boekel said yesterday afternoon.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Defence Force had been helping with preparation and remained on standby to help emergency services.
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Emergency alerts were issued throughout last night for a string of towns in the area, including as far inland as Charters Towers.
Townsville Disaster Information urged residents to shelter in place and the council locked the Heatley Secondary College public cyclone shelter from 6pm. The Walker Street shelter, which accepts pets, remained open.
Meteorologists predicted the system was likely to track further inland as a tropical low, resulting in heavy to intense rain and possible damaging winds to parts of the northern interior and west .
Residents began preparing their homes for yet another devastating weather event earlier this week.
"I've done most of my prep. I've grabbed my sandbags and maybe a couple more batteries," one resident said.
"We're just going to keep a cautious eye on the weather and go with the flow that way we have precautions of sandbags," NightOwl convenience store owner Roz Woodham said.
Alva Beach resident Lisa Furnell had a close call as she prepared her home.
"I went to open up the gate and realised there was literally a live power pole power line lying directly across the gate," she said.
Premier Steven Miles earlier yesterday urged residents to act and prepare.
"Make sure your emergency kit is stocked. Make sure that you have enough essential items to potentially have to get through days without power," he said.
"If your home is not safe, please make the decision early to get out of it."
Disaster declarations were issued for both Townsville and Mackay while a number of schools in the cyclone's firing line were closed today.
"We have pre-emptively requested assistance from the Australian Government and other states, including aerial assets and defence support," Miles said.
"There has been an extraordinary amount of preparation work."
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Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy confirmed the federal government was expected to provide assistance.
"While the preparations have been undertaken over the last couple of days, today is the time to decide whether or not you're going to stay within your house," he said.
"Please make that decision today as the cyclone crosses the coast this evening with heavy rain and wind, it becomes unsafe in the hours of darkness to be on the roads."
The bureau was providing hourly updates overnight.
Residents are urged to keep up to date with the current warnings.
