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AIRLIE BEACH, Qld - Cyclone Ului has washed ashore boats, damaged homes and cut power to 60,000 properties in Queensland's Whitsunday region.
But early reports suggest the damage is moderate.
Authorities are just beginning to assess the damage after Ului crossed the coast as a category three system with winds of 200km/h near Airlie Beach early on Sunday morning.
It has since been downgraded to a category one and is weakening as it heads inland.
Forecasters expect it to deteriorate into a rain depression by Sunday afternoon.
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts says there's been some structural damage to homes, such as broken windows, leaks and damaged roofs.
"The early reports we're getting in is minor to moderate damage in a number of homes, power outages across the region," he told the ABC.
"The SES had about 600 calls so far but we are expecting that to escalate significantly" as the day progresses, he said.
Mr Roberts said communities had been well prepared for Ului and that had helped limit the damage.
Ergon Energy says about 60,000 customers are without power in the region, and generators are being sent to affected communities to ensure emergency and other services can keep working.
"We won't be putting crews back on the road until the weather improves and it's safer for them to get out and do some work," an Ergon spokesman said.
In Airlie Beach, close to where the cyclone made landfall, one of the biggest tasks will be salvaging about a dozen vessels washed onto the rocks.
They include the 26-metre Anaconda II, a former racing maxi that has sailed round the world and competed in the Sydney to Hobart race. It's now used to take backpackers on sailing trips.
Most appear to be private vessels but all are of a substantial size.
The town itself has survived relatively unscathed, with no obvious damage other than many trees down, the power cut and shade sails ripped apart.
The Department of Community Safety said many of the 600 calls it received were made before the cyclone hit, and between midnight and 5am (AEST) the State Emergency Service responded to 30 jobs, most in Mackay.
"To date, the jobs reported are for minor structural damage consisting of damaged roofs and windows which has caused some water inundation into homes," it said.
"Trees have also come down on homes and roads."
At 7am, Cyclone Ului was a category one system and about 120km southwest of Bowen and 60km west of the mining town of Collinsville, moving west-southwest at 30km/h.
Heavy rainfall and flooding is expected in coastal and inland areas between Bowen and St Lawrence, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Damaging winds are also expected between Ayr and Bowen for the next few hours.
Mr Roberts, Premier Anna Bligh and the acting chief officer of Emergency Management Queensland, Bruce Grady, held a phone hook-up with affected communities on Sunday morning.
- AAP
