Cyclone Jasper is heading towards the coast of far north Queensland, where it is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 system.
A tracker map shows Jasper is about to make landfall north of Cairns, with the town of Port Douglas identified as a potential 'red zone' in the event of significant tidal waves from the cyclone.
Residents of the region are bracing for possible power, internet and water supply disruptions.
The cyclone weakened to a Category 1 overnight, but fears remain it could strengthen and impact the Queensland coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 system.
“We expect the storm to intensify again as it heads towards the coast early this morning, moving back into category three and hitting the coast somewhere between Cape Melville and Cardwell,” bureau meteorologist Jonathon How told Ny Breaking Australia.
On Sunday afternoon, Cyclone Jasper was estimated to be about 850km east of Cairns, with residents between Cooktown and Ingham warned to expect damaging winds of 90km/h from Tuesday.
“Jasper has weakened to a Category 1 system and may weaken slightly further on Monday as it moves generally westwards,” a Bureau of Meteorology warning said on Monday.
Residents of far north Queensland are bracing for possible power outages, internet and water supply disruptions as Tropical Cyclone Jasper ravages the state (a weather zone map)
From Monday morning, the Category 1 storm about 600km east of Cairns is barreling west at 20km/h as Queenslanders prepare to batten down the hatches
Several cruise ships that left Brisbane to sail the waters north of Australia have been forced to change course and head south to Sydney instead
'Jasper is expected to intensify again on Tuesday as it approaches the coast. The system is now forecast to become a Category 2 system as it makes landfall on Wednesday, most likely between Cape Flattery and Cardwell.
'Jasper will weaken as it moves inland towards the Gulf of Carpentaria on Thursday. If the system is slower and crosses on Wednesday or Thursday night, the chance of a serious category three crossing remains small.'
Cairns supermarket shelves have been cleared of essentials such as bottled water and batteries as residents are urged to prepare an emergency kit.
Several cruise ships that left Brisbane to sail the waters north of Australia have been forced to change course and head south to Sydney instead.
This includes the gigantic Quantum of the Seas with almost 5,000 passengers on board.
The $1.4 billion, 348-metre megaship was meant to sail to Airlie Beach and Cairns as part of a six-day cruise that left Brisbane on Wednesday but went to Sydney instead.
Another Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas, has also abandoned an 11-day Great Barrier Reef cruise and will instead take its 2,500 passengers to Eden, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart before ending in Sydney.
Meanwhile, Carnival Luminosa has canceled a planned four-day cruise from its home port of Brisbane to Airlie Beach, which departs on Sunday.
The ship, which can accommodate up to 2,700 passengers, will go to Sydney.
The winds could extend as far north as Cape Melville, on the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula, and as far south as Townsville, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
A tropical cyclone watch has been issued for Cape Melville to Townsville, including Cairns and Cooktown, with a flood watch also in place in these areas.
The cyclone weakened to a category one overnight, but fears remain it could strengthen on Wednesday and hit the Queensland coast as a category three system.
Heavy rain was also expected to develop along the coast from late Tuesday, before Jasper was likely to make landfall between Cooktown and Cardwell on Wednesday, where it could develop into a category three cyclone.
Flooding was possible starting Wednesday for the northern tropical coast, parts of the Cape York Peninsula and Gulf Country, the agency warned.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds was also in force for parts of the Herbert, Lower Burdekin, Central Coast and Whitsundays districts on Monday, with the agency predicting gusts of up to 90km/h in some areas.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services on Sunday warned residents between Cape Melville and Townsville that strong winds could topple trees and power lines, blow roofs off homes and blow away anything that isn't secured.
Jasper could also cause telephones and the internet to stop working, as well as the water supply, the services warned. Communities can also become isolated.
Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said – before announcing her shock retirement from politics on Sunday – that she had been informed of the cyclone.
“I can say that all preparations have been well made,” she told reporters.
“It is expected to reach land on Wednesday and can I remind the people of Queensland and especially North Queensland to exercise caution.”
On Monday morning, the Category 1 storm was located about 600km east of Cairns