Army to help with cyclone clean-up

A home damaged by Cyclone Marcia in the coastal Queensland town of Yeppoon. REUTERS/Jason Reed
A home damaged by Cyclone Marcia in the coastal Queensland town of Yeppoon. REUTERS/Jason Reed
Hundreds of soldiers are set to join the massive clean-up underway after Cyclone Marcia unleashed its fury on central Queensland.

Yeppoon, Rockhampton and Bileola were the worst hit when Marcia made landfall on the Capricorn Coast on Friday as a category five storm before turning into a tropical low which swamped southern Queensland.

Almost 550 houses were damaged and 60,000 properties left without power on the Capricorn Coast region.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said up to 350 Australian Defence Force troops from Townsville will head to affected areas to help with the clean-up.

"What we are seeing here is complete and utter devastation," the premier, who visited Rockhampton and Yeppoon on Saturday, said.

"We now need the army to come in and assist."

State disaster co-ordinator Steve Gollschewski said initially about 50 army personnel would be sent to areas between Rockhampton and Yeppoon.

"We'll continue to assess that situation and look at what we need on the ground to make sure that the work gets done," he said, adding that troops would be deployed on Sunday and Monday.

State Emergency Service volunteers are also assisting with the clean-up and another 350 troops are on stand-by in Brisbane.

The clean-up and rebuild is expected to take several weeks and it will be several days before hundreds of Ergon and Energex workers can switch power back on in central Queensland.

Flooding in Bileola and Gympie has added to damage list, along with 56 affected schools. Thankfully there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.

Flooding expected in south-east Queensland was not as severe as expected.

A strong wind and dangerous surf warning was still in place for the southeast on Saturday night as ex-Tropical Cyclone Marcia, which is now off the mainland, heads down the coast.

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