The Bureau of Meteorology has recorded 24hr rainfalls across North Queensland with 571mm at Paluma Dam, 501mm at Paluma town, 702mm at Rollingstone, 449mm at Bluewater and 437mm at Toolakea.

Emergency alerts have been issued for residents in between Mackay and Cairns with many being told to leave their homes.

Premier David Crisafulli told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast, "Already, we've had the Defence Force and we got approval yesterday for some of their aerial assets."

"They'll be an important part of the recovery," he said.

"The decision to pre-position was the right one and my thanks go to those people, whether or not they're emergency services personnel or state agency."

"We had 300 workers from Ergon go from one end of the state to the other."

"Now, that's Queensland spirit with a capital Q and they're there for the long haul," the Premier said.

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