Cyclone bears down on flood-ravaged Australian region

Tens of thousands of Australians stockpiled food and waited in sturdy shelters today as a monster cyclone approached the north east coast with furious winds, rain and surging seas on a scale unseen in generations.

Gusts up to 186mph are expected when Cyclone Yasi strikes the coast after whipping across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The storm front is more than 310 miles wide and Yasi is so strong, it could reach far inland before it significantly loses power.

Queensland premier Anna Bligh said the last cyclone of such strength to cross Queensland was in 1918.

“It’s such a big storm – it’s a monster, killer storm,” she said. “This impact is likely to be more life threatening than any experienced during recent generations.”

Ms Bligh said coastal residents should have left already as their region would undoubtedly flood during an expected high sea surge. People further inland were told to “bunker down” in their homes and get ready for gale-force winds. More than 10,000 people were already in evacuation centres, and roads were closing as strong winds and heavy rain made travel unsafe.

Landfall was expected just south of Cairns – a city of about 164,000 people about 1,400 miles north of Sydney and a gateway for visitors to the Great Barrier Reef – between the towns of Innisfail and Cardwell.

The rural community of Innisfail was devastated by Cyclone Larry in 2006 with thousands of homes and banana and sugar cane plantations destroyed. No-one was killed.

Earlier Ms Bligh had told coastal residents their window of opportunity to flee was closing.

“Do not bother to pack bags. Just grab each other and get to a place of safety. Remember that people are irreplaceable,” she said.

Yasi was forecast to hit land at about 10pm local time (12pm Irish time) the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The timing, just after high tide, meant high storm surges of at least 6.5ft were likely to flood significant areas along the coast.

“What it all adds up to is a very frightening time,” Ms Bligh said. “We’re looking at 24 hours of quite terrifying winds, torrential rain, likely loss of electricity and mobile phones. People really need to be preparing mentally if nothing else.”

Cairns airport closed after extra morning flights left. Tourists fled beach resorts ranging from backpacker hostels to exclusive clubs, and military flights ferried the ill and elderly from hospitals to safety further south. About 9,500 people had taken cover at evacuation centres by last night.

Those who decided to weather the storm from their homes taped up windows, stacked sandbags and tried to stay calm.

Jane Alcorn and Briton Alan Buckingham, 48, filled a basket with food and rubbish bags at a grocery store buzzing with people picking up last-minute essentials Wednesday morning. The couple said the winds would likely tear the roof off their apartment complex, but they still planned to take shelter in their garage with other tenants.

Mr Buckingham, who has never experienced a cyclone before, admitted he was having some trouble keeping his nerves in check.

“Where do you run to?” he said. “You can’t run inland and outpace it. ... You’ve got to sit it out.”

Ms Alcorn, 42, a veteran of Queensland storms, said she had already banned those sheltering with them from panicking during the storm.

“There’s no crying, no hysterics,” she said. “It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be scary. But we’ve got each other.”

Forecasters said up to 3ft of rain could fall on some coastal communities.

The storm will whip over the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches 1,600 miles along Queensland’s coast.

A spokeswoman for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said it was too early to speculate on how Yasi would impact the world’s largest coral reef system.

Previous cyclones have caused damage to the underlying reef, breaking and displacing coral.

Queensland has been in the grip of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters for more than a month.

Tropical deluges that began in November flooded an area greater than France and Germany combined, damaging or destroying some 30,000 homes and businesses and killing 35 people.

Large parts of Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city, were inundated for days. The government says the total cost to Australia is at least €4bn.