A terrifying cyclone roaring towards Australia has strengthened to the most dangerous threat level, as forecasters warned it was shaping up as the deadliest storm in generations.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to a category five storm from category four as it menaced the populous east coast, where it was expected to hit around 10pm (1200 GMT) on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Storm front 650km long
"This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations," it said in an ominous warning that raised the expected strength of the looming storm.
Yasi, packing a storm front 650 kilometres long and an eye measuring about 35 kilometres across, was on course to slam into the populous area between the tourist hub of Cairns and Cardwell to the south.
It was expected to generate highly destructive winds of more than 280 kilometres per hour, 700 millimetre of rain and a storm surge that could flood towns and tourist resorts.
A terrifying 24 hours
"The next 24 hours is going to be, frankly, a very terrifying 24 hours for the people in the danger area," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said, adding it was "the most severe, the most catastrophic storm to ever hit our coast".
The monster cyclone was over the Coral Sea about 650 kilometres offshore early on Wednesday as thousands of locals and tourists fled the coast of northern Queensland state while they still could.
Seaside residents were urged to desert their homes ahead of an "extremely dangerous" storm surge of between 2.3 and four metres that was likely to cause extensive flooding.
'Do not bother to pack'
"I cannot say in strong enough terms, you have to take this window of opportunity now" to evacuate," Bligh said. "Do not bother to pack bags, just grab each other and get to a place of safety.
"Frankly I don't think Australia has ever seen a storm of this intensity in an area as populated as this stretch of our coast," she said.
Thousands of residents and holidaymakers have flown out of the region, while two hospitals in Cairns were evacuated and shuttered, with patients airlifted on military planes to the city of Brisbane.
Airports and ports in Cairns and other cities in the area were set to close on Wednesday morning as winds picked up strength, while frightened residents remained battened down and prayed for safety.
In an atmosphere of eerie calm, locals in Cairns and Townsville queued up early to buy petrol, bread and food before shops and service stations were boarded up.
"It's a bit scary," doctoral student Kirsty Nash told AFP from her home in Townsville, where officials say more than 10 000 homes are at risk of flooding.
"I have been here for a few cyclones that have headed our way, but no-one has been all that worried about it in the past. This one is different."
Schools and universities were shuttered, while the Australian military was racing to move ships and planes out of the Townsville area before Yasi hit.
Evacuation centres full
Cairns, usually bustling with holidaymakers and diving enthusiasts, was all but deserted. Seven evacuation centres set up to shelter those who were forced to flee their homes were full.
A blanket of intense humidity and menacing clouds weighed over the region, but there was little wind and only scattered showers.
The storm's size and power dwarfs Cyclone Tracy, which hit the northern Australian city of Darwin in 1974, killing 71 people and flattening more than 90 percent of its houses.
It will also be twice the size and far stronger than the category four Cyclone Larry that caused A$1.5-billion (about R10.8-million) of damage after hitting agricultural areas around Innisfail, just south of Cairns, in 2006.
Forecasters said Yasi could be "horrific" and take 24 hours to weaken after it makes landfall.
"There's still potential for it to become stronger... (if it becomes) a strong category five we could see wind gusts in excess of 320 kilometres an hour, which is just horrific," meteorologist Gordon Banks told public radio.
http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/703087.html
Seems the land down under is in for a rough ride.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to a category five storm from category four as it menaced the populous east coast, where it was expected to hit around 10pm (1200 GMT) on Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Storm front 650km long
"This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations," it said in an ominous warning that raised the expected strength of the looming storm.
Yasi, packing a storm front 650 kilometres long and an eye measuring about 35 kilometres across, was on course to slam into the populous area between the tourist hub of Cairns and Cardwell to the south.
It was expected to generate highly destructive winds of more than 280 kilometres per hour, 700 millimetre of rain and a storm surge that could flood towns and tourist resorts.
A terrifying 24 hours
"The next 24 hours is going to be, frankly, a very terrifying 24 hours for the people in the danger area," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said, adding it was "the most severe, the most catastrophic storm to ever hit our coast".
The monster cyclone was over the Coral Sea about 650 kilometres offshore early on Wednesday as thousands of locals and tourists fled the coast of northern Queensland state while they still could.
Seaside residents were urged to desert their homes ahead of an "extremely dangerous" storm surge of between 2.3 and four metres that was likely to cause extensive flooding.
'Do not bother to pack'
"I cannot say in strong enough terms, you have to take this window of opportunity now" to evacuate," Bligh said. "Do not bother to pack bags, just grab each other and get to a place of safety.
"Frankly I don't think Australia has ever seen a storm of this intensity in an area as populated as this stretch of our coast," she said.
Thousands of residents and holidaymakers have flown out of the region, while two hospitals in Cairns were evacuated and shuttered, with patients airlifted on military planes to the city of Brisbane.
Airports and ports in Cairns and other cities in the area were set to close on Wednesday morning as winds picked up strength, while frightened residents remained battened down and prayed for safety.
In an atmosphere of eerie calm, locals in Cairns and Townsville queued up early to buy petrol, bread and food before shops and service stations were boarded up.
"It's a bit scary," doctoral student Kirsty Nash told AFP from her home in Townsville, where officials say more than 10 000 homes are at risk of flooding.
"I have been here for a few cyclones that have headed our way, but no-one has been all that worried about it in the past. This one is different."
Schools and universities were shuttered, while the Australian military was racing to move ships and planes out of the Townsville area before Yasi hit.
Evacuation centres full
Cairns, usually bustling with holidaymakers and diving enthusiasts, was all but deserted. Seven evacuation centres set up to shelter those who were forced to flee their homes were full.
A blanket of intense humidity and menacing clouds weighed over the region, but there was little wind and only scattered showers.
The storm's size and power dwarfs Cyclone Tracy, which hit the northern Australian city of Darwin in 1974, killing 71 people and flattening more than 90 percent of its houses.
It will also be twice the size and far stronger than the category four Cyclone Larry that caused A$1.5-billion (about R10.8-million) of damage after hitting agricultural areas around Innisfail, just south of Cairns, in 2006.
Forecasters said Yasi could be "horrific" and take 24 hours to weaken after it makes landfall.
"There's still potential for it to become stronger... (if it becomes) a strong category five we could see wind gusts in excess of 320 kilometres an hour, which is just horrific," meteorologist Gordon Banks told public radio.
http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/703087.html
Seems the land down under is in for a rough ride.
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