Meteorologists confirm Sandra is hovering 300km off Rennell Island, with winds gusting up to 200km/h in the Solomon’s southern Rennell and Bellona Province.

Although it’s a relief for Queenslanders, Sandra still gave cold sweats to the government, which ensured a number of shelters would be ready to accommodate those near what could have been the impact zone.

Housing and Public Works Minister Tim Mander said 10 new Category 5-proof cyclone shelters were made ready for use in Townsville and surrounds.

“We’ve already had more than enough wild weather this year, but if Sandra does cross the coast we will be ready for it,” Mander said.

“Cyclone shelters in Townsville, Ingham, Proserpine and Bowen are all complete and the keys have been handed over to the local disaster management groups.”

Luckily, none of them should be needed, with TC Sandra continuing to move away from the Queensland coast in a southeasterly direction.

The state is still cleaning up from the Australia Day floods caused by ex-TC Oswald – which killed six people and caused an estimated damage bill of $2.5 billion.

The state government has also just started granting money for reconstruction and clean-up efforts.

A $1 million disaster recovery fund is now available for 18 sports clubs in Bundaberg, Gympie and on the Fraser Coast to help them rebuild.

The federal government also recently awarded $17M for flood mitigation projects in Roma and Ipswich, $40M to upgrade state infrastructure to a better standard and $45M for counselling and environmental recovery programs.

Since the 2010-11 floods, the total flood-damage bill has been estimated at $9.5B.