Insurer response teams are on standby as Far North Queensland readies for Cyclone Jasper, which today intensified to a category 2 system and began crossing the coast, bringing destructive winds and flash flooding. 

The Bureau of Meteorology estimates Jasper to be 125 kilometres north of Cairns and moving westward at 7kms per hour. Port Douglas is on red alert, its closed marina is empty with boats relocated to safer areas and shops along popular Macrossan St sandbagged. 

“Jasper is slowly making landfall just south of Wujal Wujal near Cape Tribulation,” the Bureau said at 3pm today. Gusts of up to 140 km/h are expected to develop down to Port Douglas, possibly extending further south to Cairns. 

More than 10,000 are already without power, debris has already made some roads impassable, and evacuation centres were established in Cairns, Port Douglas and Cooktown. Cairns airport closed at 8pm last night. 

The Bureau, which is issuing hourly updates, says dangerous flooding is expected between Cooktown and Port Douglas, with 24-hourly rainfall totals of 400-500mm possible. A storm tide is forecast, with total waters expected to approach or marginally exceed the Highest Astronomical Tide level. 

“As well as destructive winds we could see locally intense rainfall that could lead to life threatening flash flooding - we're talking hundreds of millimetres coming down in a really short period of time, leading to much more intense risk,” Senior Meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said. 

“Storm surge is still a concern, particularly for those living along those low-lying coastal areas. The risk of inundation continues.” 

Jasper, which formed over the Solomon Sea last week, is the first cyclone in the Australian area of responsibility this season.   

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) has declared an event for Jasper, meaning that the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool will cover damage and related flooding for claims lodged with insurers that have joined the scheme. 

Insurers have placed disaster response specialists on standby to move into affected communities and assist customers with claims as needed. Suncorp Group reassured customers today that it has dedicated teams ready to help. 

“We are closely monitoring the situation and I want to thank emergency crews including our partner Queensland SES. I also thank the community for all the preparation, including sandbagging, that has been done to lessen Jasper’s impacts,” Suncorp Group CEO Steve Johnston said.  

 “We want to reassure all our customers we are ready handle their claims."  

Ports are closed at Cairns, Cooktown, Mourilyan, Port Douglas and Cape Flattery, with many boats relocated to sheltered riverways, while rail, bus and taxi services have been suspended and 40 km/h speed limits introduced. 

Ergon Energy said it had 500 crew ready to help with power restoration and there were already severe weather outages at Cairns, Innisfail and Tableland. 

“It’s likely strong winds and debris will affect electricity supply in some areas from tonight. Our crews are ready to respond after Jasper has passed,” it said. 

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says insurers have been actively monitoring Cyclone Jasper over the last week and have disaster response specialists ready. 

The ICA was liaising with government, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the National Emergency Management Agency in preparation. 

“This remains an unfolding and unpredictable weather event,” ICA CEO Andrew Hall said. “Insurers stand ready to support customers and to help alleviate the stress and uncertainty.”