Posted on 03/19/2006 4:04:44 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
anyone know if brisbane, canberra or sydney ever get threatened or hit by cyclones?
Is that another cyclone behind the one that hit? Yikes.
Late Sunday, Queensland state Counter Disaster and Rescue Services executive director Frank Pagano said, “This is the most devastating cyclone that we could potentially see on the east coast of Queensland for decades ... there is going to be destruction.”
Whoa...that being Northeast Australia, there WILL be lunatics trying to surf it. Cowabunga!
They're anticipating winds up to 250 mph; sounds BIG to me.
Today is her birthday, I hope all is OK for her.
bump
Has anyone notified the "Bus Driver" Nagin or asked him for advice yet?
TT
Trees fall down on the ground in front of a house in Cairns, northeastern Australia, in this image taken from television Monday, March 20, 2006. Powerful Tropical Cyclone Larry, with winds of up to 290 kph (180 mph), ripped roofs off buildings and uprooted trees across Australia's northeastern coast Monday, packing winds so powerful that emergency workers were forced to stay inside despite pleas from terrified residents.
Widespread cyclone damage in north Queensland
Posted at 3:08pm on 20 Mar 2006
There is widespread damage across far north Queensland as Cyclone Larry moves inland after crossing the coast this morning.
The cyclone hit the far north Queensland coast this morning as a maximum Category 5 storm, with wind gusts reaching 290kph.
It has now been downgraded to a Category Three storm as it moves inland over the Atherton Tablelands, and the wind gusts have dropped to about 200kph.
Forecasters had feared Cyclone Larry might move over the Gulf of Carpentaria and regain its original strength but they now say it is not currently expected to take that path.
It is expected to weaken and by tomorrow should just be a tropical low.
Areas south of Cairns hard hit
Coastal areas south of Cairns were hard hit when the cyclone hit this morning at full force.
Trees have been uprooted, roofs have been torn off and crops have been flattened.
In the town of Innisfall, there are reports that one in three houses in the town have lost their roofs. Amanda Fitzpatrick, who owns a motel in the town, says the damage looks like an atomic bomb has gone off.
Cairns has also suffered significant property damage
Farmers say millions of dollars worth of crops like bananas and sugar cane have been flattened.
Promise of help
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says help will be on its way to victims of Cyclone Larry within hours.
The State Premier said he had been in contact with Prime Minister John Howard, who had assured him the armed services would be at Queensland's disposal once the cyclone had passed.
Mr Beattie urged those in the path of the destructive storm to "batten down" and wait for assistance.
He said he hoped to move rescue teams in within "two or three hours".
Worst since 1931
The Queensland Counter Disaster and Rescue Services said today the cyclone was the worst recorded since 1931.
Earlier the Bureau of Meteorology said it's more powerful than Cyclone Tracy, which struck Darwin in 1974. Cyclone Tracy killed 71 people and destroyed more than 70% of the buildings in Darwin, leaving over 20,000 people homeless.
MFAT monitoring situation
New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is monitoring the situation in Queensland.
A Ministry spokesperson in Wellington says New Zealand's Consul-General in Sydney is in contact with Australian authorities.
She says there are no reports of any New Zealanders needing assistance at this stage.
2nd cyclone forms
The ABC reports a second cyclone has formed behind Cyclone Larry.
The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology says Tropical Cyclone Wati is near Vanuatu and moving west, south-west at about 13 knots. It is currently located about 2,000km east of Townsville.
180 is a lot of wind.
I doubt they'll go that high ........ unless 'The HildaBeast' is visiting.
This is really not a good way to promote your book!
Thanks for the ping, Onyx. Fred and Dundee are you anywhere near this thing?
Latest color enhanced infrared image of Cyclone Larry
You're most welcome!
It's HUGE!
No, I'm hundreds of miles to the south of it. Saw a report on TV, lots of fallen trees, flying roofing iron, people are being told to stay inside until the high winds pass, someone said 290klm an hour...seems a bit high to me. Area most affected is Innisfail, farming and sugar cane territory. Some property damage in Cairns.
Here's one report I got off Google:
Cyclone Larry devastates FNQ farms
Monday, 20/03/2006
The most powerful cyclone to cross the north Queensland coast in 20 years is continuing to cause havoc as it moves west.
The core of the category 5 Cyclone Larry crossed the coast near Innisfail, around 7:00am AEST, with wind speeds of 290 kilometres an hour.
Banana grower Naomi King says their property has taken a heavy battering.
"We've lost most of our trees, we've lost a fair bit of the car shed, we've lost another shed just over from our house and it looks like the iron on the lime shed just over the back of the house is lifting up too," she said.
"My brother and I are holding the handles to the French doors, because the bolts have busted out from the wind, but we've been holding them for the last hour and a half already."
I'll keep you posted...
Whoops! There goes the shed...
Larry destroys cyclone-proof shed
From: AAP
March 20, 2006
A FAR north Queensland resident has told of her shock at seeing her supposedly cyclone-proof shed destroyed by Cyclone Larry.
Kylie Burt, who lives on the Atherton Tablelands, says she watched from her house as the cyclone tore through her property after crossing the coast near Innisfail earlier today.
"We've got a 60-foot (18m shed which is a cyclone-proof, rating five, and we've lost the lot," she told the Seven network.
"The wind got under it, I gather, and it just lifted the roof off and now it's in my cattle paddock."
Ms Burt said she did not know if her cattle had survived the cyclone, as it was still too dangerous to leave the shelter of her home.
"(There are) trees down everywhere, there is debris flying through the air everywhere, it's just too dangerous to be outside," she said.
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