Police have arrested a man in relation to 17 electric generators stolen from the roadside in cyclone-hit Rockhampton.

The man was taken into police custody shortly after Queensland Police made a public appeal for information to the thefts.

The generators were being used to power critical services such as traffic lights which, along with 70,000 homes, lost power after Cyclone Marcia tore through the region last Friday.

• Thieves snatch generators in cyclone-hit Rockhampton
• The ‘forgotten town’ devastated by Cyclone Marcia
• Small Qld towns reel from Cyclone Marcia
• Marcia leaves her impression

Qld Police Acting Detective Inspector Luke Peachey says the incident was “totally despicable” and a “low act”.

An image of what the stolen generators might look like. Photo: ABC

The generators were stolen sometime Saturday night or in the early hours of Sunday.

A former Rockhampton council employee turned technology entrepreneur, meanwhile, has donated nearly 50 generators for residents affected by the cyclone.

Brisbane-based Megaport Chief Executive and founder Bevan Slattery said after watching Marcia wreak havoc to the place he called home for 25 years, he decided to do something.

Rockhampton was hard hit by the storm, which crossed the coast as a category five system last Friday morning, tearing down power lines and ripping roofs of hundreds of houses.

– with AAP