Rockhampton braces for Marcia

Rockhampton residents are being advised to bunker down in their toilets and laundries as Cyclone Marcia hurtles towards them.

Cyclone Marcia hit the central Queensland coast at Shoalwater Bay on Friday morning as a category five storm.

Hundreds of residents in the coastal town of Yeppoon, just south of Shoalwater Bay, have evacuated to the cyclone shelter at the Yeppoon State High School.

The cyclone is travelling southwest and is expected to hit Rockhampton, a city of more than 70,000 people, on Friday in the early afternoon as a category three storm.

But unlike Yeppoon, Rockhampton does not have a cyclone shelter.

Rockhampton's mayor Margaret Strelow says residents are being told to take cover in the smallest room in their house.

"A category three can still damage buildings," Ms Strelow told AAP.

"We don't have a cyclone shelter. Unlike Yeppoon, because we're not right on the coast, it's not a cyclone prone area.

"Let's hope the cyclone will change its mind and not land on the top of us as predicted."

She said council and the SES were ready to respond with sandbagging and tarps in the aftermath.

The Criterion Hotel's general manager Jay Hill said the wind was picking up and trees were bending over.

"There's a few palm branches that have fallen off and trees are bending over," he told AAP.

"There are a lot of cars still on the road. I don't know why. It's getting pretty hairy out there."

He said the hotel was ready for the cyclone, with canned food, torches and batteries packed and 15 guests briefed on what to do.