Bowen couple ran from ferocious Cyclone Debbie with toddler in their arms

An extraordinary tale of survival has emerged from the town of Bowen where a couple were forced to flee at the height of the Cyclone Debbie and run, with their toddler son.

Katie and Levi Ward waited out two cyclones in their home before Debbie and they thought they could do it again. But as the wind picked up, their house peeled apart.

At the height of category four winds the couple made an unthinkable decision to shield their two-year-old son in their arms and run.

“We just a made a beeline through the middle of the storm,” the emotional mother told 7 News.

“There was iron flying everywhere. It felt like pins and needles,” she sobbed.

“I just never wanna go through it again.”

Her husband will never forget the terrifying noise.

“It's just a horrible, horrible noise. It really is... it's shattering.”

In the cyclone’s wake, the Wards moved out belongings from their home - which is now unlivable.

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Theirs is just one story of how Debbie picked her Bowen victims. In an area which feared it would suffer a direct hit, Debbie instead targeted selectively.

Twenty per cent of Bowen’s homes were ripped apart, while others were spared.

The roof of John Nyar’s home was hurled into the neighbour's front yard.

His family is now forced to put its lives back together without help from insurance.

“We seen a big shadow go over and that was the roof and it just got really breezy inside,” Mr Nyar said.

Dianne Heffler's roof held up, but her solar panels were not as lucky.

“It's really sad, but at least we're here,” she said while fighting back tears.

Big, old trees littered streets as sheds were shredded, and sails torn.

Once luxury yachts - many uninsured - became mangled wrecks and the airport didn't escape Debbie's wrath either

In just 24 hours, 276mm of rain fell in Bowen, forcing the Bruce Highway to be cut in almost every direction.

A local aged in his 90s has spent more than 30 years living in a bus - and that is where he stayed yesterday.

As a tree snapped around him and a window smashed, the bus stayed upright.

Terry and Clare's Seafood shop was also a victim, with its delivery area decimated just three weeks out from Easter.

“It's pretty distressing because it's our big day of the year,” Clare said.

But help is on the way. A navy ship carrying 500 tonnes of supplies, including a helicopter, medics and 192 officers, is headed for North Queensland as the military and Premier flew into Bowen to assess the damage.

But with 80 per cent of Australia's winter fruit and vegetables coming from Bowen, growers will stand to lose most of their crop.

Also, in the impact zone was 25 per of the country's sugar crop, with cane just eight weeks from harvest, flattened, just as farmers were on track for their best prices in five years.

Early estimates suggest the damage bill is upwards of a $2 billion dollars, with supply shortage expected to last until November, and farmers now counting the long term costs.