Queensland braced for ‘monster’ cyclone

AUSTRALIA’S Queensland state is facing one of the worst cyclones in its history, officials warned yesterday, bringing wild winds and potentially devastating rainfall to areas still awash with floods.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a monster storm brewing on the Coral Sea, “may well be one of the largest and most significant cyclones that we’ve ever had to deal with”.

It is on track to reach category four out of a five-point scale by the time it hits the Queensland coast early on Thursday, and officials said it could eclipse Cyclone Larry, a 2006 storm that wrought some Aus$1 billion in damage.