Mr Medil said he was glad he chose to stay at a friend's place during the storm after finding his home very much worse for wear on Wednesday.

"I'm scared about the wind, and heavy rain, so I ran away to my friend's house," he said.

Part of the roof is gone as well as the top of the front wall, and when emergency services assessed the site as part of their house-by-house damage assessment on Tuesday morning they found asbestos in the roof.

"Just now they told me about that one (asbestos in the roof) so I feel nervous about that because they said it will kill me," he said.

"Now I decided to leave, to remove all my things and pack up everything and bring it all to my friend's house."

Mr Medil pays $125 in rent a week to live at the house on Leichhardt Street, but he said he would not be going back.

"That's it, I'm going to leave this house now because I'm very scared."

The aftermath of Cyclone Debbie is starting to sink in for north Queensland residents as some prepare to walk away from their business and the region.

A shell-shocked Dave McInerney emerged from the rubble of his Shute Harbour Motel at daylight on Wednesday to survey the damage.

He said the extent of the damage caused by the category 4 cyclone meant he would now likely walk away.