At Ingham, north of Townsville in north Queensland, Cyclone Yasi's winds have died down but residents are bracing for flooding.

Cyclone Yasi crossed the north Queensland coast around Mission Beach, south of Cairns, about midnight (AEST) as a severe category five storm.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi was downgraded to a category two system this morning and is moving inland towards north-west Queensland.

Ingham locals say they are surprised Yasi did not cause more damage and the town appears to have been spared the worst, but they are getting ready for localised flooding.

The Bruce Highway heading south is already flooding.

All around Ingham, massive trees have been uprooted and the roads are littered with debris.

Power and water have been cut and will be out for several days.

Parts of shop fronts have been torn off and some sheds and fences have blown over.

Road signs have been flattened and cane crops around the city have been seriously damaged.

Businessowner Joe Russo says the winds were terrifying.

"The noise and the wind - just scary," he said.

Herbert River

Ingham Mayor Pino Giandomenico says the Herbert River is expected to reach 11.6 metres later today, which will flood low-lying areas and could isolate the city.

"[That] 11.6 metres will give us some flooding, so people in the lower reaches of the district they need to lift now," he said.

"But the other problem is it is continuing to rise - they haven't done their calculations yet.

"When they do their calculations then we'll know exactly where it's going to peak."