Beattie fears cyclone's power

"This cyclone is a category five now and compared to Tracy, which was also a category five ... the heart of Tracy was 47 kilometres, this is 100km and the front itself is 300 to 400," Mr Beattie said on Channel 9.

"So we are very concerned about it, it's the worst cyclone we've had in decades.

"We're very concerned about what sort of damage will do, some of the buildings won't withstand a category five cyclone, a lot of the houses won't, we expect it will be quite extensive damage."

Mr Beattie said emergency crews were well prepared.

"All the preparations that can be done have been done," he said.

"Depending on when it hits the coast we'll have SES teams, we've got local government people on the ground, emergency services people ... we'll have rescue teams that will go in about mid-morning.

"Everybody's really working their guts out to help and be prepared, we now just have to wait and see the extent of the disaster."

Mr Beattie said schools in the region would be closed today, while thousands of residents had already been evacuated from low-lying areas.

"Can I just urge anyone who's listening to this in north Queensland, to continue to listen to their radio, to the authorities," he said.

"At this time ... just say a little prayer for those people who are in this danger zone.

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