Cyclone Yasi expected to cross Queensland coast after Cyclone Anthony

Queensland Satellite

Cyclone Yasi expected to cross Queensland coast after Cyclone Anthony

QUEENSLAND'S island resorts are being evacuated and ports closed ahead of Cyclone Yasi, which threatens to develop into one of the worst storms the state has seen.

Premier Anna Bligh on Monday said Hamilton Island, in the Whitsundays, was starting to evacuate its guests, and other resort islands are preparing to evacuate tomorrow.

Yasi will be a severe category three or four cyclone when it crosses the coast on Thursday morning, likely between Innisfail and Proserpine.

Ms Bligh told reporters that authorities were preparing for the cyclone to trigger a storm surge that could flood low-lying areas between Innisfail and Mackay.

Residents in low-lying waterfront areas there should consider staying with friends from Tuesday, she said.

"This is a very serious threat," Ms Bligh told reporters in Brisbane.

"We have to take this very seriously and we're preparing for it.

"In addition to a very significant cyclone, possibly one of the largest we have ever seen in Queensland, we expect to see this event become a significant rainfall event in areas to the south and surrounding where it crosses the coast."

Falls of up to one metre could hit areas that have already been flooded this month, and the government was working on models to show what that would mean for central Queensland.

Ports from Cairns to Mackay will be closed from late on Tuesday.

Yasi was not expected to dissipate quickly, or turn off the coast, Ms Bligh said.

"All of the modeling right now says this is going to cross our coast ... and it may well be one of the largest and most significant cyclones that we've ever had to deal with," she said.

"We will need to take every precaution and make every preparation and that is what we are doing."