Lyn and Tex Battle know better than most about the risks of cyclone season.
For 35 years, the couple has lived on tiny Sweers Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
"We're totally exposed," Mr Battle said.
"There's no hills, there's no heavy forest around us — we're out in the open.
"We have a cyclone shelter, which is a shipping container which we've lined and sealed and fitted with an ensuite.
"It's mounted in concrete and it's chained down, so we're hoping it wouldn't move."
The couple has had a category 2 cyclone over them and faced the tail end of multiple category 3 cyclones.
They consider it lucky that their property has not sustained structural damage.
"We try to secure all loose items during the cyclone season," Mr Battle said.
"We make sure we have plenty of food in the freezers — we can survive for six weeks without a food drop."
Mr Battle also experienced Severe Tropical Cyclone Althea in 1971.
The category 3 system devastated Townsville and killed three people.
"I saw some pretty frightening things there," Mr Battle said.
"The noise is horrendous. Buildings that you think are very secure are not.
"I saw concrete-block walls blown over.
"I saw a Land Rover-type vehicle rolling down the road — just rolling over and over and over, and doors flying off and windows flying out."
He is worried that Queenslanders are not taking the dangers of cyclone season seriously.
"There is a sense of complacency — 'It hasn't happened in 50 years [in Townsville], it won't happen again,'" Mr Battle said.
"Well, it will. It'll happen eventually."
State in peak storm season
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) classifies Australia's tropical cyclone season as starting in November and ending in April.
"For Queensland climatologically, we see the most cyclones in February, and we also see quite a few in March as well," senior meteorologist Laura Boekel said.
The BOM's latest cyclone outlook, released in October, predicted more tropical cyclones that average this season.
The last tropical cyclone to make landfall in Queensland was Tropical Cyclone Tiffany, which crossed north of Cooktown as a category 2 in January 2022.
The last severe tropical cyclone (classed as a category 3 system and above) was Tropical Cyclone Trevor, which made landfall in March 2019 near Lockhart River.
Ms Boekel said the most "impactful" cyclone in Queensland's recent history was Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
The category 4 cyclone devastated the Whitsundays and surrounds, cost $1.8 billion in insurance losses and an extra $700 million in disaster relief and recovery.
"The maximum sustained wind speed from that was 195 kilometres per hour, but we recorded maximum wind gusts of 263 kilometres per hour," Ms Boekel.
"That is such a strong gust and can obviously do so much damage."
Ms Boekel said wind, rain and storm surges were the three main risks posed by cyclones.
"You don't have to be near the eye, getting all the wind of the cyclone," she said.
"You can be quite far away and still get really serious impacts from the rainfall."
'Complacency' the 'enemy'
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said North Queenslanders were better educated about the impacts of cyclones than their capital city counterparts.
But an influx of new residents into regional Queensland means many are unfamiliar with the damage a cyclone can inflict.
"Complacency is our biggest enemy in this region," Cr Hill said.
"I say to people, 'It only takes one and that's the one we've got to prepare for.'
"We haven't seen major cyclonic activity hit Townsville really since Althea [in 1971] … but it doesn't mean it can't happen and it won't happen."
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Northern Region Acting Assistant Commissioner Michael O'Neil has witnessed his fair share of disasters in his 28-year career.
He says preparation is key.
"If we look at the last couple of years of … disasters that have occurred, shops are potentially shut for three to four days, post an event," Acting Assistant Commissioner O'Neil said.
"It's important that you've got enough food for your family, got enough food for your pets, and also got enough medication for people that need it to see you through probably three to five days."
Acting Assistant Commissioner O'Neil says other simple measures, including checking gutters and rooftops, pruning trees, ensuring personal documents are in order and having an evacuation plan are also important.
"Just getting those sorts of things in order makes a massive difference during the time of pressure when we are having to evacuate people," he said.
"Two or three hours out is no time to start the preparation."
