People in north Queensland have been warned to expect wind speeds of up to 260 kilometres per hour when a "big, ugly sister" cyclone makes landfall later this week.

Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ), police and weather officials are meeting across the state's far north today to discuss the possible threat of Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

The category-one system is north-west of Vanuatu but is expected to intensify before crossing the Queensland coast on Wednesday or Thursday.

Authorities fear the massive cyclone could be as intense as Cyclone Larry, which devastated parts of far north Queensland in 2006.

Queensland Police says it is the "big, ugly sister" to Cyclone Anthony, which caused only minor damage as it crossed the state's north coast near Bowen, south of Townsville, overnight.

The weather bureau predicts Yasi's eye will cross the coast near Townsville, but it says the system is so large it could impact communities 500 kilometres away.

Senior forecaster Jim Davidson says Yasi is a big threat.

"It's probably going to be in the category-three to category-four range - wind gusts up to 200 to 260 [kilometres per hour]," he said.

Mr Davidson is also warning there could be a large storm tide as it crosses the coast either late on Wednesday or early on Thursday.

Yasi is about 2,000 kilometres north-east of Bowen but is moving west quickly.

"It's certainly going to move inland into Queensland during the course of the later part of next week, with fairly widespread rain areas and heavy rain within that as well, so the flooding potential is there," bureau spokesman Rick Threlfall said.

"Exactly where at this stage is just a bit too difficult to say."

Superintendent Brian Connors from the Cairns Disaster Coordination Centre says it is better for people to be over-prepared.

"We are treating it very seriously although there is not a defined location that it will directly impact on at this point in time, but it's best to go through those preparations nice and early."

EMQ says full cyclone preparations should be put in place across north Queensland.

"People should consider to be self-sufficient in their home after the impact of such an event after about 72 hours," spokesman Wayne Coutts said.

"Consider what you might do if you don't have power for about that long. Consider what you might do if there's no water, if you're unable to go to the shops."

Test run

Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell says Cyclone Anthony was a good test run for the region's emergency services.

Anthony brought down trees and caused minor damage to homes when it made landfall last night. It has been downgraded to a tropical low and is heading inland.

"All the preparations we have made for Anthony will just be repeated as we find out what's happening to Yasi as it gets a bit closer," Mr Tyrell said.

"Certainly it was a good run for us to threaten any glitches to the system."

EMQ's acting assistant director-general, Warren Bridson, says he is using the lessons learnt from the Hurricane Katrina disaster in the US to help prepare for Yasi.

"It's full-on. We don't try to second guess the predictions - that's another lesson I learnt from America," he said.

Independent MP Rob Messenger says property owners should be allowed to clear trees before Yasi arrives.

Mr Messenger says vegetation management laws provide an exemption when there is a risk of serious personal injury or damage to infrastructure.

He has called on the State Government to clarify that the exemption applies to cyclone threats.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan says coal ports and the rail system avoided damage from Anthony but she is concerned by Yasi's potential.

"There is some possibility of getting coal ships into Abbot Point today in order to commence loading before they would have to go out again in the next couple of days for the bigger cyclone to come," she said.

"It hasn't been completely decided if that's possible, but there is an aim to do that."

- Reporting by Kerrin Binnie, Chris O'Brien, Penny Timms and Kristy Sexton-McGrath