WHAT WE KNOW

• TC Debbie has formed in the Coral Sea and is expected to intensify to a Category 4 by crossing.
• A 'Watch Zone' has been issued for Cairns to Ayr.
• A 'Warning Zone' is in place for Ayr to St Lawrence, including the Mackay and Whitsunday regions.
• Mackay is expected to get the worst of the rainfall.
• Thousands have been evacuated.
• The Bureau has labelled Debbie the most significant cyclone to hit Queensland since Category 5 Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

A GROUP of Tweed hockey players is bunkering down and preparing for the worst as their pre-season bonding session on the Barrier Reef is disrupted by Cyclone Debbie.

The 12 members of Kingscliff Hockey Club team, nicknamed 'The Sinkers', flew up to Airlie Beach on Thursday as part of an organised, pre-season fun weekend for the women.

But instead of enjoying planned activities of kayaking and sailing around the reef's picturesque islands, the group has been forced to bunker down in their holiday apartment complex, with food, batteries and other provisions stockpiled to last the next few days.

The team, which was due to fly home tonight, are stuck in the north Queensland town after all flights to and from the area were cancelled as Cyclone Debbie gains momentum.

Latest forecasts indicate Debbie will develop into a destructive Category 4 cyclone around 1am tomorrow, with the eye of the storm expected to make landfall at Bowen, about 80km north of Airlie Beach.

Windspeeds of up to 280kmh are forecast to blast the coastline as the storm makes landfall.

Kingscliff mother-of-two Tracey Prichard said spirits were high despite the storm bearing down on them.

"At first we were all really excited, but now we are going 'Oh my God' at what we are about to go through," Ms Prichard told the Tweed Daily News.

"We've been told the noise will be the worst part of it all, we'll just have to see how we go."

Ms Prichard said the team was planning to bunker down in the hallway of their apartment complex when the storm hits the coast, with little sleep expected.

"The people we are renting the apartments from have been here for 15 years and they say the building is strong and sturdy, we'll probably be safer here than anywhere else," she said.

Ms Prichard said the team, many of whom had played hockey together for up to 25 years, would be there for each other, in a bonding session like none other.

"We are all really close, and know each other very well, so we should be okay," she said.

Flights are not expected to return to the region until at least Thursday.

PICTURE GALLERY:

https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/photos/queensland-residents-brace-cyclone-debbie/50167/#/0