Townsville is set to be hit by storms, heavy rain and potential flash floods as foul weather from ex-cyclone Nora moves south from Cairns.
Low lying parts of Cairns have flooded and a March record of 593mm of rain fell at Port Douglas after Nora crossed the western coast of Cape York as a category three storm early on Sunday .
Cairns copped more than 260mm in 24 hours and about 150 calls for assistance have been received by the SES, mostly for help sandbagging properties.
While no one has yet needed to be rescued, swift water experts have been stationed along the coast from Cooktown to Port Douglas.
On Tuesday, the focus will be on Townsville and a severe weather warning will likely remain in place until the rain stops, which the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts to happen on Wednesday.
Up to 200mm is predicted to hit Townsville on Tuesday but that will probably drop back to a maximum of 20mm as ex-cyclone Nora moves west on Wednesday.
Nora, which weakened to a low pressure system and is not expected to reform into a cyclone, is forecast to hang around the Gulf of Carpentaria on Tuesday before heading back towards the Northern Territory later in the week.
The BoM is predicting 50mm to 100mm of rain around the Gulf on Tuesday.
Ten schools and 10 childcare centres will be closed while damage is assessed and repairs undertaken.
Meanwhile, clean-up efforts are underway across far north Queensland.
At Pormpuraaw, which was hit hard as Nora made landfall, Ergon Energy is trying to reconnect power to 230 homes.
People in Cairns and Port Douglas are mopping up after torrential rain from Nora caused flash flooding.
Flood watches and warnings of strong winds and heavy rainfall remain in place.
