Overstromingen Australie: Ergste in honderd jaar

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ANNA Bligh has returned Queensland to an emergency footing as cyclones threaten to rain fresh misery and destruction on the flood-weary state.

Tropical Cyclone Anthony capped its on-off flurry off north Queensland by reforming yesterday and is on track to strike the coast late tomorrow or Monday.

At the same time, authorities were monitoring a developing low pressure system near Vanuatu, which has the potential to create a second and even more powerful cyclone threat next week.

Describing the situation as "potentially very serious", the Premier reactivated the disaster management group that guided Queensland through the opening phase of its flood disaster. "We're battening down the hatches once more, but we hope both these weather formations disappear out at sea somewhere," Ms Bligh said.

The emergence of the cyclones is in line with long-range weather forecasts that nominated late January as a time of peak danger for the storms. Queensland's cyclone season lasts to April.

With rivers brimming across the state and dams full near major population centres, including Brisbane, the danger from Cyclone Anthony extends beyond the force of its destructive winds.

Should it cross the coast, as predicted, it will break down into a rain depression that could deluge the state's sodden south, causing renewed flooding. The Bureau of Meteorology said Anthony formed into a category-one cyclone about 11am yesterday, but was set to intensify into a category-three storm, packing destructive winds of more than 165km/h. On current tracking, it would slam into the coast between Bowen and Cairns late tomorrow or Monday.

Yesterday, it was about 950km northeast of Townsville.

The tropical low hovering further out in the Coral Sea, about 1500km northeast of Vanuatu, will be named Cyclone Yasi if it continues to intensify. It could build into a category-four storm, with 200km/h-plus winds, and be in a position to menace the Queensland coast north of Gladstone by Thursday.

"In a worst-case scenario, Queensland could see two tropical cyclones cross the coast in a matter of three or four days," Ms Bligh warned, adding the outlook was grim as the state grappled with recovering from the disastrous floods that had affected nearly two-thirds of its area, and more than three million people.

Ms Bligh said meteorologists were more concerned with the Yasi storm system because of its intensity. She urged people to remain calm, but to be prepared and secure property.

The cyclone watch issued yesterday for communities between Cairns and Bowen is set to be upgraded to a cyclone warning today.

Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, reappointed as state disaster co-ordinator, urged people to stock up on food and essential items, and top up car petrol tanks.

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Two cyclones threaten flood-ravaged Qld

Communities along almost 2000 kilometres of Queensland coastline are preparing for the first of two tropical cyclones to hit.

By 7pm (AEST) on Saturday, Tropical Cyclone Anthony was about 830 kilometres northeast of Townsville and was expected to cross the coast late on Sunday or early Monday as a category one or low category two system.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is expecting high rainfall for north and central Queensland and abnormally high tides are expected between Townsville and Bowen.

It comes amid concern a second cyclone, named Yasi, will develop from an intense tropical low currently near Fiji and hit the Queensland coast next Thursday.

The area of concern extends 1700 kilometres from Cooktown down to Hervey Bay, including several major population centres - Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone and Bundaberg.

State disaster management coordinator Ian Stewart urged people living in these areas to prepare.

"The reason we are considering this broader area, is to ensure that the preparations of the community and emergency service personnel are adequate for Tropical Cyclone Anthony ... and a further cyclone Yasi, later in the week," he said.

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Victoria battered by storms and floods

Victoria has been battered by thunderstorms producing flash floods across the state as the effects of tropical cyclone activity continue to wreak havoc on infrastructure and property.

The State Emergency Service (SES) took calls from more than 1500 people for assistance and rescued 49 people from cars and homes after heavy rain inundated suburbs and towns on Friday evening.

Public transport was brought to a standstill along tram routes and several train lines, while hundreds of roads, including parts of the Monash Freeway and the Calder Highway, were closed, traffic jamming as workers fought to drive home through the deluge.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was overwhelmed by calls for help from disabled people seeking assistance.

In one case, fire crews was called to assist a disabled man in a wheelchair who had water rising to his hips inside his Mulgrave home.

Firefighters rescued a girl who was swept away by flash floodwaters and clung to a tree branch in Salisbury Road, Ashwood.

Emergency warnings for flash flooding were issued for the metropolitan, central, east, southwest, northwest and northeast parts of the state.

Relief centres were established in the northwest city of Mildura, in the central Victorian areas of Creswick and Bendigo and even at the St Kilda Town Hall for residents flooded out of their homes.

Many residents in central Victoria hit by the rain had just completed mopping up from last month's widespread flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that another 150mm of rainfall would inundate Victoria's northeast overnight.

The extreme weather has been blamed on the remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Anthony moving over northern Victorian and southern NSW on Thursday.

The Bureau is forecasting widespread rain in Victoria over the weekend, including a flood watch for the greater Melbourne catchments of Werribee, Maribyrnong, Yarra, Dandenong and Bunyip.