The sky turned red in Mackay as Tropical Cyclone Marcia approached on Thursday night. Credit:Casi Baker 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. At 4am on Friday, Cyclone Marcia was estimated to be 130 kilometres northeast of St Lawrence and 180 kilometres north of Yeppoon.

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 on Friday and airports in Mackay, Hervey Bay and Bundaberg have been shut down. A number of flights to nearby areas have also been cancelled. 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. She said decisions on school closures would be made Friday at 6am. 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.