The central Queensland coast has escaped significant major damage from Cyclone Anthony after it made landfall at Bowen last night.

According to Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Mike Brunker there has been only minor damage, with some trees down, tin sheets ripped off roofs and “a few pubs have lost windows”.

The cyclone, which has now been downgraded to a tropical low, is heading inland with winds of up to 150kmh and heavy rain.

However, while Anthony drifts inland, central Queensland is bracing for the next cyclone – Yasi – currently off the northwest coast of Vanuatu.

The Bureau of Meteorology has a severe weather warning current for the Queensland central coast, northern parts of the Coalfields and Central Highlands districts as well as the central-west, which includes areas around Longreach.

It has also issued a flood warning for coastal rivers between Townsville and south of Mackay.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi is expected to cross the Queensland coast on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Weather experts are expecting the cyclone to grow in intensity as it travels across the Coral Sea and there are predictions it could become a category four or five by the time it reaches Queensland. It is currently a category one cyclone.

Alerts extend from Cooktown to Hervey Bay and authorities say the event has the potential to be a major statewide catastrophe.