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Australia bears onslaught of huge cyclone 11:22 20 March 2006 NewScientist.com news service Emma Young, Sydney A devastating tropical cyclone has ripped through north-eastern Australia, injuring people and destroying homes with gusts of up to 290 kilometres (180 miles) per hour. And another cyclone – the Southern hemisphere's hurricane equivalent – is on its way.The first cyclone, named Larry, reached maximum (Category 5) intensity at about the time of landfall. It hit the coast at the town of Innisfail, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Cairns, at 0700 Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on Monday. Larry is now weakening as...

(CBS/AP) A powerful tropical cyclone packing winds of up to 180 miles-an-hour struck northeastern Australia early Monday, injuring at least three people. Tropical cyclone Larry smashed into the coastal community of Innisfail, about 62 miles south of Cairns, a popular jumping-off point for the Great Barrier Reef, sending hundreds of residents fleeing for higher ground, reports CBS News. A Queensland state police spokeswoman at Innisfail said three people had been reported injured so far in the storm, including a woman who was struck by flying glass and two others who were hurt after falling down.

Far north Queensland residents in cyclone Larry's path have been urged to evacuate as authorities compare the violent storm to Hurricane Katrina which devastated United States gulf states last year. Larry could intensify to a category five - the most intense rating for a cyclone - by the time it hits south of Cairns between Innisfail and Cardwell early tomorrow, the Bureau of Meteorology said today. Counter Disaster and Rescue Services (CDRS) executive director Frank Pagano said residents in low-lying beach communities along the stretch of coast in the cyclone's path should be "really considering" evacuating. Mr Pagano said mandatory...