Communities in North Queensland are bracing for tropical cyclone Yasi.

In its latest forecast, the Bureau of Meterology (BOM) warned that the large and powerful Category 3 cyclone is expected to slowly intensify overnight as it moves westward over the Coral Sea.

Damaging winds with gusts up to 90 km/hr are expected to extend further inland across southern Cape York Peninsula and north of Charters Towers Wednesday night. BOM also warned that destructive winds, with gusts in excess of 125 km/hr, would impact communities located between Cooktown and Townsville late Wednesday afternoon.

A rise in sea levels is expected, along with damaging waves and flooding in low lying areas. Flooding rains are also expected to develop between Cooktown and Sarina on Wednesday afternoon.
 
All local disaster management groups in affected areas have been activated and as a precaution the Queensland Government has prepared plans for areas as far north as Cook Town and as far south as Maryborough.

Cairns Regional Council has advised residents in low lying areas to move to higher ground.

Mayor Val Schier said that those people living in Port Douglas, Yorkeys Knob, Holloways, Machans and Bramston Beaches and the Cairns CBD were "strongly advised" to move to higher ground.

“All residents in low lying areas are advised to take shelter with friends or family at higher ground,” Cr Schier said.

Businesses were also advised to shut down in anticipation of the category four cyclone.

Yasi is expected to make landfall near Cairns at around 1:00am AEST on Thursday. With damaging winds of up to 280 kilometres per hour expected, airports and major roads are expected to close tomorrow.

Premier Anna Bligh said mayors in the affected region have completed comprehensive mapping of local government areas, to identify what might be at risk in the case of a storm surge.
 
“The bureau’s modelling toady indicates that this is an event likely to be accompanied by a significant storm surge,” she said on Monday.
 
“So in addition to the effects of a cyclone, we are preparing in that Innisfail to Mackay region now for potential flooding of low-lying, waterfront areas.”
 
In an interview on channel Nine’s Today program, Ms Bligh said preparing for a cyclone was very different to preparing for a flood.
 
“With floods, mostly, particularly slow river rising flood, you have a degree of precision about when it will come and where the floodwaters will go,” she said.
 
“You don’t have that with a cyclone."

For more information on emergency preparations visit www.disaster.qld.gov.au.