Second Qld cyclone may be on the way

Flood fears are easing in north Queensland after Cyclone Dylan was revised downwards. Source: AAP

AS north Queenslanders mop up after the state's first cyclone of the season, forecasters say another one could be on the way.

Cyclone Dylan, which made landfall early on Friday morning between Bowen and Airlie Beach, was described as "lame" by some while others say the north "dodged a bullet".

Gusts up to 135km/h, heavy rain and storm surges battered coastal areas from Townsville to Rockhampton on Friday as the category two cyclone crossed the coast and tracked inland.

Low-lying areas from Townsville to Mackay were inundated during a king tide on Thursday and Friday.

Great Keppel Island Hideaway co-owner Sean Appleton said staff were frantically trying to save three houses at the resort on Friday afternoon.

The resort had lost three decks since Dylan crossed the coast.

"We've got 250 beds here but losing them rapidly," he told AAP.

"(The swell) was no greater than we anticipated, but it was greater than we could stop. We had no hope."

Moored boats were smashed during storm surges at Bowen and Airlie Beach.

But most north Queensland communities appeared to have escaped significant damage.

Emergency services responded to about 170 cyclone-related calls in the past four days, with most about minor damage and requests for help with sand bags.

"It's put a lot of branches on the ground and it was a bit of a restless night but overall I think it was quite lame compared to the other ones," Hideaway Bay caravan park owner Paul Willcocks told the ABC.

The cyclone disrupted holidays for some tourists stranded on islands in the Whitsundays since Airlie Beach ports closed on Thursday.

Shipping between the islands and the mainland will reopen from 6am (AEST) on Saturday.

Some roads in Mackay have been cut off and flights were disrupted along the north Queensland coast.

Mackay Mayor Deirdre Comerford said residents in her area had "dodged a bullet".

"Lots of things went in our favour: the winds dropped, the direction changed, the rain lightened up and as a result we didn't get anywhere near where we thought we might be," she told AAP.

"But it looks like (another cyclone) will form in the next week or so and we'll be playing it all again."

The Bureau of Meteorology says a monsoon trough between Bowen, north of Mackay and Cape York Peninsula in the far north could form into a cyclone.

"The monsoon trough is still quite active and it's possible that another cyclone will spin up, but at the moment none of the models are in agreeance so it's probably a bit too early to say," forecaster Ilona Coote told AAP.

Dylan, downgraded to a tropical low on Friday morning, is just south of Collinsville, inland from Mackay, and is weakening.

A severe weather warning remains in place for coastal and island communities from Cooktown to Gladstone.

Central Queensland graziers have welcomed the rain, but say they aren't expecting it to make much of a difference to drought-stricken areas.

"There needs to be prolonged rain," Northern Gulf Graziers Group chairman Barry Hughes told AAP.

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