SUNCORP'S group CEO Michael Cameron didn't come empty handed when he touched down in Proserpine yesterday.

He came bearing a $150,000 cheque which he handed to the director of the Queensland Red Cross Leisa Borne at the Proserpine community hub.

Ms Borne said the gift was a significant contribution to the recovery effort which was now being waged by the Red Cross in the wake of Cyclone Debbie.

"People are still cleaning up, they really don't understand yet what the gaps might be for community, our intention is to walk alongside the community for the long haul,” she said.

Whitsunday mayor Andrew Willcox met with the Red Cross recovery team to determine what the long term needs of the people might be.

Ms Borne said research done in areas hit hard by natural disasters revealed recovery was a long process and not something that happened in one or two months time.

"Two years, three years, four years, people will all recover at different time frames,” she said.

"It is really important that people connect and spend time with their families... and do some normal things to get a bit of normality back in their lives.

"Research tells us that it can take up to 10 years to fully recover and find a new normal.”

Suncorp group CEO and managing director Michael Cameron said the company was extremely proud to support the Red Cross in helping people of the Whitsundays find a new normal following Cyclone Debbie.

"The Australian Red Cross relief teams are on the ground in each of the affected areas, providing care and assistance to the communities. We want to do our bit to ensure this vital work continues,” Mr Cameron said.

"There's still a lot of work ahead to get these communities back on their feet. The Disaster Relief and Recovery effort will ensure that this support can continue in the long term.”

On the ground in Proserpine Mr Cameron was impressed to see the community working together to achieve a positive result after Cyclone Debbie destroyed in hours what Whitsunday people had taken years to build.

To those cynics who believed Suncorp to be a faceless corporation whose only interest was turning a profit for its shareholders, Mr Cameron said the company had a genuine intention to help the community.

"It's times like these that we actually do our best work. We have put a huge amount of time and effort and non- financial assistance into people,” he said.

"This is a really just a small token...to help them (the Red Cross) do their job even better than they already do.”

Suncorp customer response teams have been deployed to the affected cities and towns, to allow residents to lodge their claims face-to-face and enable the recovery process to get under way sooner.

The Proserpine team is based at Proserpine State High School.