The deluge could cause flash flooding and has already swollen rivers and creeks from Cape Keerweer to Cape York

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Far north Queensland is likely to welcome 2019 with a bang, with wild winds and more torrential rain as a category two cyclone brewed offshore.

A cyclone warning was current on Monday for a stretch of coast from Cape Keerweer to Cape York, taking in the communities of Weipa, Aurukun and Mapoon.

A broader “watch” alert was in place for the area from Kowanyama up to the Torres Strait islands. The deluge could cause flash flooding and has already swollen rivers and creeks. People have been warned not to enter waterways in cars or on foot.

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A man’s body was found on Monday morning, several kilometres downstream from where a 28-year-old man entered a flooded canal close to Cairns city on Saturday.

North of Cairns, there was still no sign of a 34-year-old woman last seen on Thursday walking into fast-flowing Wallaby Creek at Rossville.

Peak gusts of more than 90km/h were predicted for later on Monday, with heavy rainfall expected to cause flooding over the coming days.

The system was over the Gulf of Carpentaria and moving west on Monday but expected to turn back towards the Queensland coast on New Year’s Day.

The meteorologist Jess Gardner said there was a greater than 50% chance of it forming into a cyclone. “We are expecting it to be a category two as it crosses back over the Queensland coast,” she said.

Tides are expected to heighten through the Torres Strait. A flood watch remained current for coastal catchments north of Cardwell, including catchments across the Cape York Peninsula.