A cyclone can push water far inland for extended periods or in strong, destructive waves. However, not all cyclones produce storm surges.

If storm surge is predicted, people in storm surge areas may be advised to evacuate. The Cairns Disaster Group will keep residents informed through the Cairns Disaster Dashboard, the Cairns Disaster Centre Facebook page, media bulletins, the Cairns Alert emergency messaging system and Emergency Alert.

Information will also come from local media. Please note the ABC is the official broadcaster of emergency information.

Know your zone

Storm surge evacuation is advised on the predicted height of the storm surge, known as zones, not by street or suburb. Storm surge can travel a significant distance in land, especially along tidal creeks. It’s therefore very important to ‘know your zone’.

You can quickly find your zone by entering your address in the search field at the top of the page.

Please note, in Cairns, evacuation advice is only issued for storm surge, not the wind and rain associated with cyclones. To find out what to do if a cyclone is expected to impact Cairns, visit our cyclone page.

Read our Storm Surge Evacuation Guide ( PDF, 6.45 MB )

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