PORT DOUGLAS, Australia (CNN) -- About 2,000 residents of northern Queensland began returning to their homes Friday and were assessing the damage left by Cyclone Rona.

The storm's eye passed over Port Douglas on Thursday night, with torrential rains and winds up to 170 kilometers per hour (105 mph). But the storm did less damage to the area than feared and weakened shortly after making landfall.

The area is the main tourist center for trips to the Great Barrier Reef.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Merri Rose declared the region around Port Douglas, Cairns and Innisfail a disaster zone.

"There does not seem to have been substantial structural damage, nor did a storm surge which accompanied Rona cause the problems it would have, had it arrived on a high tide," Rose said. "But while people are safe, what are predicted to be severe floods -- possibly the worst in some areas for more than 20 years -- will follow."

Just days earlier, tropical Queensland was still recovering from floods that claimed five lives near the state's southern coast. Rona left much of far north Queensland without power after winds tore down cables and trees.

"It's really bad. In the ranges, lots of trees went down," Cairns Deputy Mayor Jeff Pezzuttti said.

Sugar cane industry could be hit hard

Fears of more flooding began to subside late Friday along the banks of the Barron River, which enters the Pacific Ocean near Cairns.

The storm's greatest impact may be on the sugar cane industry, a $1.7 billion Australian ($1 billion/U.S.) cash crop. Rona flattened nearly all of the sugar cane crop in the north Queensland region, which produces about one-third of Australia's supply of the commodity.

"We won't know how much we've lost until flood waters subside and growers can get around their paddocks," said Ian Ballantyne, general manager of an industry association. "However, there is no doubt that there will be significant damage to individual farms."

The cyclone lost power as it crossed the coastline, and was soon downgraded to Category 2 -- weaker than the Category 4 Cyclone Tracy that killed more than 60 people in northern Darwin in 1974.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.