Residents and tourists evacuated coastal areas of Australia’s Queensland state on Tuesday as a monster cyclone intensified to “deadly” proportions and roared towards heavily populated areas.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, packing winds of about 250km/h, was due to hit the holiday resort-strewn coast early Thursday, bringing with it treacherous storm surges and heavy rains.
“This storm is huge and it is life-threatening,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh warned of one of the worst cyclones in the region’s history.
“This is potentially a deadly storm and we need to take it absolutely seriously.”
About 250 patients in two hospitals in the tourist hub of Cairns were evacuated to other cities, while officials urged residents in coastal areas to leave home immediately as the storm gathers strength over the Coral Sea.
“If you are in a low-lying or waterfront area in the danger zone and beyond you need to relocate yourself and your family to safety,” Bligh said, adding that mandatory evacuations would likely be ordered later on Tuesday.
Yasi is expected to reach a severe category four on a five-point scale by the time it makes landfall and will likely eclipse Cyclone Larry — a 2006 storm that caused up to Aus$1,5-billion in damage — in both intensity and size.
The storm is likely to hit between Cairns, a city of more than 122 000 people, and the town of Innisfail to the south, but meteorologists predict its winds and rains may be felt hundreds of kilometres away.
“I think … we need to prepare for the eventuality of something really significant heading into areas that may not have seen this before,” meteorologist Gordon Banks told public broadcaster ABC.
Closure of airports
Yasi is expected to hit further north than first predicted and may not dump rain in central Queensland, hopefully sparing areas devastated by recent flooding from new inundations, Bligh told reporters.
Airlines on Tuesday put on additional flights to far north Queensland to evacuate thousands of residents and tourists from the region before wild winds force the closure of airports as early as Wednesday morning.
Holidaymakers in the tourist paradise of Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays chain were abandoning the white beaches and evacuating their plush suites before flying to safety.
“We have asked our guests and residents to postpone the remainder of their holidays and we are helping them to arrange their flights out,” said Jill Collins of the Hamilton Island resort.
“The main thing is the safety of our guests, staff and residents. We hope for the best but have to prepare or the worst at time like this.”
Dogs and cats were also being airlifted on Tuesday out of the city of Townsville, south of Cairns, as animal protection services sought to move them out of Yasi’s destructive path.
Officials urged locals to secure “anything that could become a missile in the winds” before leaving their homes, and warned residents away from the impact zone to stock up on food, fuel, batteries and candles if they do not evacuate.
Queensland is still reeling from a record deluge and floods that have destroyed tens of thousands of homes and killed more than 30 people since December.
“I know that many of us will feel that Queensland has borne about as much as we can bear when it comes to disasters and storms, but more is being asked of us and I am confident that we are able rise to the challenge,” Bligh said. – AFP