Thousands flee as cyclone hits Australia

A POWERFUL tropical cyclone packing winds of up to 290km/h slammed into Australia’s north-eastern coast last night after more than 1,000 tourists and local residents were evacuated to higher ground, the weather bureau said.

Tropical cyclone Larry smashed into the coastal community of Innisfail, about 100km south of Cairns, a popular jumping-off point for the Great Barrier Reef, forecaster Jonty Hall said.

The weather bureau upgraded the storm to a category five - the strongest category possible - and thousands of local residents were evacuated ahead of the cyclone’s arrival.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, but officials predicted the storm could cause widespread devastation.

Hall said conditions were “terrible” in the region, and warned of surging coastal tides and gale force winds along a 300km stretch of coast in north-eastern Queensland.

“There’s extremely dangerous conditions,” he said.

“We’re starting to see a very dangerous storm surge come to shore... It doesn’t get much worse than this.”

Earlier, Queensland state Counter Disaster and Rescue Services executive director Frank Pagano compared the potential force of Larry to Katrina, which ravaged the US Gulf states in August last year, killing more than 1,300 people.

National flag carrier Qantas cancelled a scheduled morning flight to Cairns and another to Townsville - the two largest cities in the cyclone’s possible path. Cairns has a population of 125,000 while Townsville is home to 160,000 people.

Brisbane Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre website advised: “People in the path of this very dangerous cyclone should stay calm and remain in a secure shelter - above the expected water level - while the very destructive winds continue.”

The stretch of coast the storm was heading toward includes the tourist city of Cairns, popular with international travellers and the start point for many Great Barrier Reef boat cruises.

“Coastal residents between Cairns and Townsville are specifically warned of the dangerous storm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast,” the bureau warned.

“The sea is likely to steadily rise up to a level which will be significantly above the normal tide, with damaging waves, strong currents and flooding of low-lying areas extending some way inland.”

Queensland state premier Peter Beattie declared a disaster situation and authorities ordered residents south of Cairns to flee their homes if they live near the coast.