Residents told to leave amid flooding warnings in northern Australia

Residents in the far north region of the state of Queensland were on Saturday advised to prepare for "dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding" following days of intense rainfall.

Parts of Townsville, the biggest city in the affected area, received 350 millimeters (mm) of rain in the 18 hours to Saturday morning, with authorities warning more is to come.

A severe weather warning issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on Saturday said that towns along a 270-kilometre stretch of coast between Townsville and the town of Babinda further north may be affected by life-threatening flooding.

State Disaster Coordinator Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy said on Saturday that emergency services responded to more than 300 calls for help overnight, 223 of which were in Townsville.

He said that residents of the small town of South Johnstone just south of Babinda were being told to leave, Xinhua news agency reported.

One evacuation centre has been opened, with authorities looking to make more available.

Chelepy urged residents in the affected area to put a disaster plan in place, ensure they are stocked up on food and fuel and that their electronic devices are charged.

"The most important thing they can do is stay connected with our messaging," he said.

The area controller for the State Emergency Service, Chris Watts, said that emergency crews prepared flood boats and storm damage equipment.

He said that residents in flood zones should be prepared to evacuate.

Parts of Queensland's north tropical coast received up to 800 millimetres of rain in the past week.

The heavy rainfall was being driven by three tropical low systems that formed off the coast of Queensland.