Cyclone Jasper live updates as red zones are revealed and what time it will hit Queensland

Residents in Far North Queensland are preparing to batten down the hatches as Tropical Cyclone Jasper bears down on the coast.

The category two storm is expected to make landfall by lunchtime on Wednesday bringing ‘life-threatening’ flash flooding and winds of 140km/hour.

Locals have been preparing for the slow-moving system for days by clearing away debris, filling up sandbags and stocking up on essentials.

Jasper is forecast to cross the coast somewhere between Port Douglas and Cape Flattery, about 440km north from Cairns, at 1pm on Wednesday.

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Locals have been told to prepare for flash-flooding and potentially days without power, with evacuation centres set-up in Cairns, Port Douglas and Cooktown.

Cairns’ Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG) urged residents in the city’s red zone – the areas at the highest risk of flooding – to evacuate immediately due to the risk of a large storm surge when Jasper crosses the coast.

Properties in Cairns North, Cairns City, Portsmith and Parramatta Park are expected to be the worst impacted as the storm approaches.