Cyclone rips through northern Queensland
Up to 50,000 homes have been left without power in the wake of Cyclone Larry, with the problem expected to take days to fix. The cyclone is one of the most dangerous storms ever to hit Queensland and reached a peak at the highest possible intensity – category five.
As the cyclone roared through the town of Innisfail, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonty Hall said: “It doesn’t get much worse than this.”
Despite the storm being downgraded to a category four as it moved west of Innisfail, Mr Hall said the conditions would worsen towards the Mission Beach area and in also Cairns because of gusts created by the mountain range.
“They probably haven’t seen the strongest winds there yet despite the fact that the cyclone’s over land, so they’ve still got their worst to come,” he said.
Residents in the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, were urgently seeking shelter today.
Communities inland of Innisfail on the north Queensland coast are bracing for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Larry.
Weather Bureau senior forecaster Mike Bergin said the category four cyclone was about 60 to 70km west of Innisfail, 60km south of Cairns, at about 11.30am.
Queensland Police has activated its Police Assistance Line for family and friends concerned about people evacuated in cyclone-hit areas.
The number is 1800 100 188.
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