The record-breaking monsoonal deluge in north Queensland has claimed its first life after a grim discovery in the floodwaters.

Police responded to reports of a car submerged in the town of Normanton on Tuesday afternoon.

A man, aged in his 70s, was found dead inside the vehicle.

It comes as rainfall totals in some locations could exceed a metre as records are broken.

Weatherzone reports that many locations in outback Queensland have broken daily rainfall records for December and January, which are already wet months.

For example, Cloncurry Airport had 455.4 millimetres to 9am on December 30, breaking its previous highest total of 346.8 millimetres in 50 years of records.

In the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday, Queensland’s heaviest rainfall total was 362.4 millimetres at Cowley Beach, about 90 minutes south of Cairns.

South Mission Beach got 312 millimetres, followed by another 50 millimetres between 9am and 1pm.

Combined with the days before that, South Mission Beach has exceeded 850 millimetres from the weather system.

“Rainfall totals exceeding one metre (1000 millimetres) now appear likely,” said Weatherzone.

Meanwhile, the eye of Tropical Cyclone Hayley crossed the coast of Western Australia’s northern Dampier Peninsula as a category three storm about 5pm on Tuesday.

Sustained winds of 120km/h swirled near the centre of the cyclone along with gusts of up to 165 km/h, according the to Bureau of Meteorology.

The region faces heavy rain with the potential for flash flooding.

The cyclone is forecast to weaken as it moves east overnight.

The warning zone covers north of Broome to Kuri Bay, including central and northern parts of the Dampier Peninsula and Derby, with residents in Beagle Bay, Cockatoo Island and Derby warned earlier that it was too late to leave.

An evacuation centre was open at the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre for those in the warning area.

The storm comes on the heels of Tropical Cyclone Fina, a category-three system that hit Darwin in late November.

Disaster recovery

Disaster relief has been activated for five north Queensland councils following the widespread flooding caused by monsoonal rainfall over the Christmas period.

Carpentaria, Cloncurry, Flinders, McKinlay and Richmond shire councils have been approved for financial assistance by the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements scheme.

The extra funding will support councils’ response, clean-up and recovery, including emergency roadworks and repairs to public assets.

Heavy rain, life-threatening flash flooding and widespread riverine flooding are continuing across far north Queensland, with dozens of roads cut.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli urged those affected and anyone travelling to use the government’s disaster dashboard page for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

“Google Maps doesn’t know where the local impacts are, they’re headquartered a long, long way away,” he said.

Crisafulli said the Bruce Highway had reopened after being briefly cut by the Seymour River between Ingham and Tully. But it would likely close again if heavy rainfall continued, given the river’s tidal nature.

-with AAP