CYCLONE YASI

Update!!!

Townsville's Strand area - photo from http://www.smh.com.au/

Tropical Cyclone Yasi crossed the Queensland coast at midnight as a Category 5 cyclone making landfall at Mission Beach. Yasi continues to be downgraded, and continues to weaken as it move inlands.

A house damaged at Innisfail - photo from http://www.smh.com.au/ 

  As day breaks, many people are only just beginning to see the destruction that has been caused overnight by the violent wind gusts that swept across North Queensland.

 

The main street of Ingham - photo from http://www.smh.com.au/

A house lies in ruins in Tully - photo from smh.com.au

The communities of Mission Beach, Tully, Innisfail and Cardwell are reported to be the hardest hit.



A fallen tree lay across power lines in Townsville
- photo from smh.com.au

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My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in North and far North Queensland, as they brace for tropical cyclone Yasi, category 5, it is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight.




VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds of over 300 km/h, these winds are expected to exceed those of which destroyed Darwin N.T. in 1974, when cyclone Tracy hit on Christmas eve.
Up to 1 metre of rain, and a storm surge of 9 metres (threatening to flood towns and tourist resorts) are expected during the next few hours as the cyclone approaches the coast.

Due to the large size of the cyclone (500kms wide), people in the path of the VERY DESTRUCTIVE WINDS are likely to experience these conditions for about 3 to 4 hours on each side of the eye of the storm.

The storm is so enormous that it would almost cover the United States or large parts of Europe.

This is the worst storm to ever hit Australia.