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► Tropical Cyclone Marcia has been downgraded to a Category 2 system as it continues to move south. But the residents of Biloela still face a wild time as Marcia bears down on them.
Sustained winds of 110km/h are being recorded near Marcia's centre, with wind gusts of 155km/h. Marcia is about 60 kilometres west of Gladstone and 65 kilometres north north-east of Biloela. It's moving south south-east at 18km/h.
► From Higgins Storm Chasing - Dramatic footage from Yeppoon as houses get ripped apart during the height of TC Marcia
4:30pm The Insurance Council of Australia has declared a catastrophe for parts of central Queensland affected by the Tropical Cyclone Marcia.
"The impact of Tropical Cyclone Marcia is likely to be felt for many days, and it is much too early to estimate insurance losses or provide claims numbers," Insurance Council CEO Rob Whelan says.
"Queensland households and businesses can be assured the insurance industry has already geared up for cyclone claims."
► Check out the current weather situation.
4pm: Tropical Cyclone Marcia is moving south west towards Moura, Biloela, Monto, and Mundubbera at 20 km/h
Destructive winds with wind gusts to 160 km/h are expected to extend further south and inland across the Capricornia and Burnett districts today, including Gladstone.
The cyclone is expected to turn to the south-southeast this evening and weaken below cyclone strength on Saturday morning.
3:15pm: Seven News has one of the first reports from Yeppoon after Tropical Cyclone Marcia moved through.
3pm: John Thompson reports from Yeppoon that the shopping area is a disaster area and one house was blown apart, 500 metres from where he was staying. John doesn't know how his own home fared further inland.
2:15pm: BOM update: TC Marcia is now a Category 3 with sustained winds near the centre of 150 km/h with wind gusts to 205 km/h.
It is estimated to be 5 kilometres south southwest of Rockhampton and 90 kilometres west northwest of Gladstone and is moving south at 19 km/h.
It continues to move south over the northern Capricornia district while slowly weakening. The cyclone is expected to turn to the south-southeast this evening, and weaken below cyclone strength on Saturday morning.
2pm: Tropical Cyclone Marcia is now a category 3. There are reports that the eye of the cyclone has passed over Rockhampton and the winds are picking up again.
1.30pm: TC Marcia has been downgraded to a category three storm, with sustained winds near the centre of 150 kilometres per hour and wind gusts to 205 kilometres per hour.
It's estimated to be 25 kilometres west southwest of Yeppoon and 105 kilometres northwest of Gladstone and moving south at 19 kilometres per hour.
It is expected to hit Rockhampton during the next couple of hours.
A separate Severe Weather Warning is current south of Double Island Point and inland to the southern Burnett and eastern parts of the Darling Downs and Granite Belt.
1.25pm: A Community Recovery Hotline has been launched to support those impacted by Cyclone Marcia.
The hotline will offer support and advice during the cyclone.
000 should still be the first call in an emergency and those requiring emergency assistance during a flood or storm should call SES on 132 500.
Queensland Communities Minister Shannon Fentiman has also announced the launch of new app called Self Recovery.
"[The app] has vital tips for preparing for disasters, including how to look after yourself, your family and neighbours, and what to do after a disaster has hit your area," she said.
"All our community recovery information is just one click away".
The Self Recovery app is now available to download in Apple and Android stores.
1.20pm: Queensland Country Life sales representative John Thompson was sheltering at his sister-in-law's place at Yeppoon on Friday when the Tropical Cyclone Marcia was moving south after crossing the coast at Shoalwater Bay earlier on Friday morning.
As the cyclone approached, he gave us a glimpse of the conditions outside.
1.10pm: “Frightening’” was how Rockhampton-based Queensland Country Life journalist Helen Walker described the situation at her home, just one street in from the airport in the west of the city.
“The rain is coming down horizontally.
“Four hours ago they said the winds were 80 km/h at the airport, They must be 120 km/h now,” she said.
1.04pm: The most destructive core of Tropical Cyclone Marcia has skirted around Yeppoon but Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is urging people not to relax as the eye of the storm heads for Rockhampton.
The Premier said it was too early for detailed damage reports out of the central Queensland coastal town but there were reports of trees blown down and slight damage to houses.
She said residents of Rockhampton, in particular, needed to be on high alert as the category four cyclone headed south.
"My message to all the people in Yeppoon and those coastal areas is please still stay indoors," she said.
"Still stay indoors, do not leave your home, do not go outside, please stay where you are.
"We have heard of some reports of flooding, starting to occur now in Rockhampton.
"So my message to all of Rockhampton residents is please stay indoors.
"The eye of this storm is headed directly towards you."
The storm passed inland of Yeppoon but still managed to generate wind gusts of about 141km/h in the small town.
TC Marcia is expected to downgrade to a still highly dangerous category three cyclone by the time it hits Rockhampton.
12.38pm: Brisbane is bearing up "reasonably well" with the rain it has received to date, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has told reporters.
"But first of all I want to say that the hearts of the people of Brisbane go out to the people in Yeppoon, Rockhampton and the surrounding areas," Cr Quirk said.
"They are obviously bearing the brunt of this cyclone," he said.
"So far in Brisbane we have come out of it reasonably well."
12.25pm: Cyclone Marcia is about 20km north of Yeppoon, according to the latest advice from the Bureau of Meterology.
The eye of the now category four cyclone has damaging wind gusts of up to 250km/h and sustained winds of 175km/h.
It is moving south at 20 kilometres per hour and is expected to hit Rockhampton later this afternoon.
The bureau says it is expected to pass to the near west of Yeppoon during the next couple of hours and continue moving south through today while slowly weakening.
12.20pm: Shayne Harris is worried she'll return to her central Queensland home to find nothing left.
But for now the Byfield resident and her two kids are bunkering down with another 200 or so evacuees in Yeppoon's St Brendan's College chapel.
The noise of objects smashing into the chapel roof is "unbelievable" but the kids are having a ball playing spotlight and Uno, she said.
"As my daughter said, it's quite social," she Ms Harris laughed.
"But that was hours ago and I think now when you're hearing things, there's big glass windows that lead to outside the car park area that they're not letting anyone go near because they're expecting it to shatter.
"But the mood in here, the radio's on, everyone's really good.
12.14pm: Flight cancellations and delays expected for all airline companies in cyclone areas.
Qantas: Travel disruptions for flights travelling to and from Brisbane, Hamilton Island, Rockhampton, Mackay, Gladstone, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Coolangatta, Biloela, Blackall, Barcaldine and Longreach.
Qantas will notify passengers of changes for effected flights, customers should refer to the flight status page on qantas.com for more information.
Virgin: Flights to and from Bundaberg, Gladstone, Hervey Bay and Rockhampton prior to 6:30pm Friday, February 20 will be cancelled.
Jetstar: Travel disruptions likely for customers travelling to and from Brisbane, Gold Coast (Coolangatta), Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore), Mackay and Hamilton Island.
Customers effected will be notified by Jetstar of any changes.
11.51am: Power is out in Yeppoon and the main threat is expected in the next hour. TC Marcia is now well overland. John Thompson, who is holed up in a two-storey home, just texted to say the shed next door was just blown about and fences are down. Cyclone Marcia is over Yeppoon now, moving south west towards Rockhampton.
11.31am: Cyclone Marcia has been downgraded to category four by the Bureau of Meteorology at its 11am briefing.
The cyclone has sustained winds near the centre of 175 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 250 kilometres per hour.
Cyclones traditionally lose intensity as they move overland.
Cyclone Marcia is estimated to be 40 kilometres northwest of Yeppoon and 135 kilometres northwest of Gladstone and moving south at 20 kilometres per hour.
It is continuing to move south towards Yeppoon and Rockhampton and expected to continue a southerly movement through the day while slowly weakening.
The next advice will be issued at midday.
11.13am: Cyclone Marcia has been downgraded to a category four storm but the danger remains.
11.10am: The first major sporting fixture has fallen victim to Cyclone Marcia, with tonight's Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory match postponed.
A-League chief Damien de Bohun said the match would be moved out of respect for Queenslanders facing the storm.
"We have decided to postpone tonight's Brisbane Roar ve Melbourne Victory match at Suncorp Stadium due to safety concerns and also out of respect for all of those in Queensland facing the potential disaster of Cyclone Marcia," he said.
10.54am: Parts of north-eastern NSW could be lashed by up to 500 millimetres of rain and possible flash flooding in coming days from a trough associated with Cyclone Marcia.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for people in the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands forecast districts in NSW as the powerful storm moves across central Queensland.
10.38am: What do you do while you're waiting for a cyclone to hit? Read this Rockhampton woman's account here. Meanwhile, a former Warrnambool man is making preparations further south in Gladstone.
10.29am: Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the Commonwealth stands ready to help Queensland in the face of TC Marcia.
10.13am: A former NSW South Coast man is hunkered down in the parth of Cyclone Marcia. He describes it as an "eerie" feeling. Read his thoughts here.
10.09am: BOM Queensland regional director Rob Webb says the danger from storm tides will continue after the worst of TC Marcia has passed
"Because any cyclone coming ashore keeps the water levels elevated for six to 12 to 18 hours afterwards, as that tides rise again this evening there may well be tides rise above the highest tide of the year again," he said.
"Over the next several days there's more heavy rain to come. We do expect more rivers to move into flood warnings."
9.58am: Cyclone Marcia has now crossed the Capricorn coast and is on land however it has not yet weakened and is still a category five storm. Unlikely to weaken to a low until tomorrow morning.
9.50am: Emergency services are evacuating more than 100 people from Lady Elliot island off the state's central coast.
In St Lawrence, 11 people have been moved to safety and tourists on Heron Island are moving into shelters.
There are more than 600 people in the Yeppoon cyclone shelter and a further 160 are at St Brendan's College, which can hold as many as 1000 people. There is also space at the town's PCYC and Emu Park.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is warning residents in areas near Yeppoon and Rockhampton in Central Queensland to go to the strongest part of their homes, the bathroom and toilet.
"Make sure that you have pillows and mattresses and please be safe," she said.
People have also been moved to evacuation centres in Sarina and Gladstone, further south.
9.48am: Premier says Queensland is well-prepared but emergency services are concerned. She has repeated her pleas for people to stay home and stay safe.
9.32am: Communities located between Sarina to Double Island Point, extending inland to Moura, Biloela, Monto, Taroom, Mundubbera, and Murgon have been urged to put their safety first in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Marcia.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Deputy Commissioner Mark Roche said residents should remain indoors until they’re advised by emergency authorities that it is safe to go outside or return home.
9.28am: Three Sunshine Coast dams are now spilling, with heavy rainfall recorded in the region overnight.
A Seqwater spokesperson said based on the ‘average estimate’ forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology, gate operations at Wivenhoe Dam or North Pine Dam are not currently planned. Seqwater is releasing water from Somerset Dam into Wivenhoe Dam to manage inflows.
On the Sunshine Coast, Ewen Maddock, Borumba and Wappa dams are spilling which is normal during heavy rain and is what they are designed to do.
Residents should take precautions downstream but be assured that a dam which is spilling has no impact on dam safety.
9.20am: Emergency services are expected to be taken off the road within the hour and shelters to be locked down.
9.14am: Cyclone core expected to affect Yeppoon later this morning, will weaken over the day but is expected to hit Rockhampton this afternoon. Residents urged to be prepared. "It will get noisy, it will get frightening."
9.12am: Yeppoon must go into lockdown, lives are at risk. "This will be a harrowing and terrifying time," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.
9.10am: All surgery has been cancelled at Yeppoon Hospital. Doctors are on standby.
9.07am: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is pleading with drivers to get off the road and be safe. She says winds are now predicted to hit 285km an hour and the tide surge is predicted to be three metres above high tide. The cyclone core is over Shoalwater bay. She says now is the most crucial time.
9am: Mother Nature is starting to unleash her fury on Yeppoon as Marcia moves across the coast.
Stefan Armbrsuter of SBS News just posted this picture of the waterfront.
8.41am: Tropical Cyclone Marcia has crossed the coast in the largely unpopulated area of Shoalwater bay, about 70km north of Yeppoon.
John Thompson, a sales representative with Queensland Country Life, who lives at Yeppoon, told Fairfax Regional that the direct effects of the cyclone had not been felt there as yet.
He has moved from his acreage property to his sister-in-law’s home in Yeppoon, which is built for cyclones.
At around 8.30am Queensland time he said there was still only light rain and bit of wind at Yeppoon.
He said expected the cyclone to reach there by 1pm.
8.36am: Redland Shire Council says power lines are down on Macleay Island, Leslie Harrison Dam has spilled over and the vehicle barge to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands has been suspended..
8.34am: Not everyone seems to be taking the warnings as seriously as they should.
8.26am: With Australia's northern coasts being battered by two severe tropical cyclones, meteorologists are saying it's the first time twin storms of such intensity have made near-simultaneous landfall.
Cyclone Lam crossed the Northern Territory coast about 20 kilometres east of the town of Milingimbi as a category 4 cyclone overnight, knocking out two wind monitors in the process.
About 2000 kilometres to the south-east, Cyclone Marcia has now crossed the coast near Yeppoon, close to Rockhampton, on the central Queensland coast. The storm is rated as a category five cyclone, the highest ranking.
While twin cyclones reaching Australia are uncommon, Friday's combination may be the first involving storms of category three or higher, said Phil Perkins, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology in Darwin.
"It's the first time that we have seen two severe cyclones occurring at the same time," Mr Perkins said.
8.20am:
8am: Livestream from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services...
7.59am: Hervey Bay Water Police and the Coast Guard have located the two men reported missing in the waters of the Great Sandy Strait.
The men, aged 38 and 39, one from Maryborough and one from Brisbane, were found safe and well in waters at the Northern End of Moonboom.
The Great Sandy Strait is a 70 kilometre sand passage separating the Queensland mainland from Fraser Island. It extends from Tin Can Bay to Hervey Bay.
► Early unconfirmed reports that the missing fishermen may have been found. More details as they come to hand.
► Check out the current weather situation.
► A search has resumed for two men who have gone missing while on a fishing trip off Fraser Island.
The pair had been on a camping trip when they sent a text message to a relative on Thursday afternoon to let them know their boat had sunk in the Moonboom area of the Great Sandy Strait
A search involving a Coast Guard vessel began on Thursday evening but was called off due to choppy seas and poor visibility whipped up by Cyclone Marcia further north.
► Emergency staff are bunkering down as Marcia draws closer...
► The destructive core of Cyclone Marcia is beginning to impact the Capricorn coast near Shoalwater Bay.
The category five system has picked up a bit more speed to be travelling south at 19 km/hr and is currently 105 north northwest of Yeppoon.
Winds near her centre are blowing at 205 km/hr, with wind gusts up to 285 km/hr.
Cyclone Marcia is expected to continue moving in a southerly direction over land close to the coast during today.
She's expected to still be a category three when she passes over Rockhampton later today.
Destructive winds are set to impact the coast as well as island communities between St Lawrence and Gladstone on Friday morning.
► Cyclone Marcia has begun to cross the Queensland coast. It is starting to weaken but is still a category five at this stage.
► Redland residents are being warned to have enough supplies to last a couple of days and have an evacuation plan as wild weather bears down on the coastline. Read more here.
► Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has addressed the media, saying safety is paramount for residents of Yeppoon and Rockhampton regions, which are expected to bear the brunt of Cyclone Marcia.
"Over the next few hours, many thousands of Queenslanders are going to go through a harrowing and terrifying experience and I want those people to know we are with you every step of the way, we will be standing by your side," she said.
"This is a severe cyclone, I want everyone to take all the precautions they possibly can take."
She urged residents to stay inside.
"Can I please say to all of our residents in the Yeppoon and Rockhampton regions, your safety is now paramount, we want you to stay in your homes, please do not leave your homes this morning, do not go outside under any circumstances," she said.
EARLIER: Queensland is bracing for widespread destruction after Cyclone Marcia was officially upgraded to a powerful category five storm.
The rapid intensification of the cyclone led the Bureau of Meteorology to upgrade its strength to the highest possible level in its 4am update on Friday.
It predicted the storm will cross the coast between Hervey Bay and St Lawrence about 9am Queensland time.
Category five is defined as extremely dangerous.
The strongest winds in those systems are very destructive with typical gusts over open flat land of more than 280 km/h.
The bureau says gusts at the core of Cyclone Marcia have been recorded at 285km/h.
The most notorious category five cyclones to hit Queensland in recent times include Cyclone Larry in 2006 and Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Evacuation centres have been established in Yeppoon, Gladstone, St Lawrence and Sarina and emergency evacuation orders have been issued for residents in low lying areas of Yeppoon.
More than 100 state schools will be closed today.
In Queensland's south east, heavy rain has left more than 5500 homes and businesses without power on the Sunshine Coast.
Many parts of the Sunshine Coast have already received more than 100 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours.
Steady rain has also been falling in Brisbane, with nearly 50 millimetres falling at the airport since 9am Thursday.
On Thursday Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called on Queenslanders to prepare early.
Speaking after a meeting of the state Disaster Management Group, she said it was essential to listen to the radio for hourly updates.
"It is important that all Queenslanders brace themselves for heavy rain," she said.
"This is a serious event. It has changed drastically since this morning.
"...This is an important time not to panic but to but to make sure you have your preparations in place."
Ms Palaszczuk said all Queensland hospitals had activated emergency plans and additional ambulance services had been moved to Mackay and Rockhampton.
The BOM predicts 200-300mm of rain for south east Queensland, with up to 500mm in isolated areas.
Flash flooding is expected in low-lying areas but Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts aren't expected to receive the strong winds felt further north. Winds in the south-east are expected to top out at about 90km/h.
Queenslanders are being urged to avoid all non-essential travel and clean up any loose items from outside.
Six dams in south-east Queensland are spilling over as residents downstream of Wappa Dam are urged to be careful around waterways.
There are no water releases planned for the south east's three flood-mitigating dams, Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine, because Seqwater doesn't expect enough water to fall in their catchment areas, well inland from the coast where the heaviest rainfalls are predicted.
The Bureau of Meteorology is releasing hourly updates on its website.
Sandbags and other assistance is available from the SES on 132 500. Call Energex on 13 19 62 to report fallen powerlines/shocks or 13 62 62 for lost power.
* If you have weather pics you would like to share, please email them to kim.treasure@fairfaxmedia.com.au, text them to 0418 632 829.