“I have spoken with Premier Crisafulli and reiterated we will supply whatever resources are required to deal with this event,” he said.

“There is more rain to come, and there is the prospect of record rainfalls … I’m just asking people, just take the precautions, prepare for the worst, listen to the advice,” he said.

Cyclonic-like rain totals have lashed Townsville and surrounds with some areas receiving more than 600mm over the past 24 hours.

North Queensland has been hit by “incredible levels” of rain. Source: AAP / Scott Radford-Chisholm

The falls come after isolated seven-day totals of more than 900mm hammered the north tropical coast.

“We could even be talking about places in excess of one metre over the next few days. That is an incredible amount of rainfall.”

Increased fire risk in Victoria amid heatwave

Fires continue to burn in Victoria’s Grampians National Park and Little Desert. The latter, sparked by dry lightning on 26 January, was declared contained but broke away on Sunday afternoon.

“There are simple ways to keep cool, like using air conditioning or fans, drinking plenty of water, wearing light or loose clothing, keeping your skin wet with a spray bottle or a damp sponge,” Wong said.

Elsewhere, vast parts of Western Australia have high and extreme fire danger ratings on Sunday.