Tropical Cyclone Kimi has intensified to a category two as it moves south, with a Cyclone Watch now declared to Bowen.
Towns from Innisfail to Ayr, in Far North Queensland, including Lucinda, Palm Island and Townsville are in the warning zone.
The cyclone is currently moving south-southeast and is likely to continue in the same direction throughout the night, bringing with it destructive winds with gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour, and heavy rainfall.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the system was now expected to slow and stall off the coast between Hinchinbrook Island and Townsville on Tuesday, while beginning to weaken.
But it warned, "considerable uncertainty" remained over the future movement of the system and there was a possibility it could cross as a category two cyclone between Hitchinbrook Island and Townsville overnight or Tuesday morning.
More than 200 people have been evacuated from Fitzroy Island off Cairns as a precautionary measure, and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was important for locals to stay up to date with current alerts as the cyclone could change course.
Assistant District Officer Mark Lingwood said emergency services were preparing for the extreme weather and deploying staff to the regions where it was predicted the system could make landfall.
"As with any cyclones, we're never sure exactly where it's going to go, it's anticipated it may cross between Cardwell and Lucinda, but there's nothing stopping it making a right-hand turn and coming into Cairns," he said.
"QPS are pre-deploying officers from the Cairns area down to the Tully and Cardwell area and also bringing police officers up to the Ingham area.
He urged people not to travel if possible, and to check road closures if they do need to leave their homes.
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2021-01-18 04:18:00Z
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