Australia cyclone 'like atom bomb'

[Dr. Jack]

SYDNEY, Australia -- The worst storm to hit Australia in decades has wreaked havoc to its northeastern coast, mowing down sugar and banana crops and leaving thousands of people homeless.

There were no reports on Monday of serious injuries, reflecting the preparedness of residents in the storm-prone region.

About 30 people were treated at hospitals for minor injuries, Ben Creagh, a spokesman for Queensland state Department of Emergency Services, told The Associated Press. Many people had left their homes to shelter in evacuation centers ahead of the storm. (Watch for what Larry shredded and the tear-choked victims -- 2:10)

In Innisfail, a farming town of 8,500 that was hardest hit, Mayor Neil Clarke said he believed thousands were left homeless.

He said the airport was being cleared to house people in tents. More than 100,000 people were without power, authorities said.

"It looks like an atomic bomb hit the place," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The storm was so bad at its height overnight that police could not venture out and help terrified residents who called to say the winds had destroyed their homes. As emergency services spread across the region later to assess the damage, they encountered scenes of devastation.

"The damage to dwellings is very extensive," Prime Minister John Howard told the Nine Network from Melbourne. "Thank heavens it does not appear as though there have been any very serious injuries."

At noon Monday, (0100 GMT), the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported the storm was a category three cyclone with top winds of 180 kph (110 mph).

It was centered about 100 kilometers west of Innisfail, in the Australian state of Queensland. Larry was moving to the west at 25-30 kph. Despite the weakening, Larry still packed gusts of up to 220 kph, forecasters reported.

Earlier Monday, the cyclone hit Australia as a category five storm -- the strongest rating possible. The eye hit Innisfail with gusts up to 290 kph at about 7:30 a.m. (2030 Sunday GMT), according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Top sustained winds at landfall were at 190 kph, but gusts up to 300 kph were reported, Craig Burke, a forecaster at the airport in Cairns, about 90 km north of Innisfail. (Watch the power of the winds -- 1:02)

"The reports that we've been receiving through the morning have been quite devastating, actually, with lots of roof and structural damage throughout the community," Burke said.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued ahead of the storm, and most residents moved to safety "well in advance," said Katheryn Ryan, a spokesperson for Queensland's State Emergency Services office.

Emergency crews reached the area late Monday morning and began assessing the damage, Ryan said.

The storm also devastated the region's multimillion-dollar banana and sugar farming industry, a local official told The Associated Press.

Deputy Mayor George Pervan of Johnstone Shire Council said the cyclone ruined sugar cane and banana crops, AP reports.

"The crops are all gone, bananas are all flattened, cane's flattened. It'll kill us for 12 or 18 months," Pervan said.

PM Howard told reporters he had been in touch with state leaders and promised "any help that is needed from the federal level."

"They may need helicopters, for example," he said. "They may need water-purification equipment, depending on the extent of the damage."

Innisfail, a beach town of about 8,000, is a popular departure point for boaters and divers seeking to explore the Great Barrier Reef.

The sounds of metal and lumber being torn from structures could be heard above the winds as the cyclone passed, journalist Phil Willmington told CNN.

"There's just devastation everywhere in this coastal community," he said.

A motel proprietor told Australia's Sky News TV that residents of Innisfail ventured out as the calm of the eye of the storm passed over the town.

She said the town looked as if a bomb had hit it with trees uprooted and tin and roofing material scattered everywhere.

Townsfolk then retreated back indoors as the winds and rains returned.

The storm struck land near low tide at Innisfail, resulting in a storm surge of just 20 centimeters (8 inches), Burke said. But he said communities to the south could face higher tidal surges as the storm nears, perhaps as high as 4 meters (13 feet).

The swath of destructive winds stretched from the coastal towns of Ingham, to the south of Innisfail, and Port Douglas, to the north, the Meteorology Bureau reported.

National flag carrier Qantas canceled a scheduled morning flight to Cairns and another to Townsville -- the two largest cities in the cyclone's path, AP reported. Cairns has a population of 125,000 while Townsville is home to 160,000 people.

Queensland state Premier Peter Beattie declared a disaster situation, giving local governments the power to enforce mandatory evacuations.

Beattie said Larry was the worst storm to hit northeastern Australia in recent memory.
Snakes and crocodiles

"We are very concerned about it, it's the worst cyclone we've had in decades," Beattie told the Nine television network Monday.

Up to 50,000 homes in the region were without power, and were expected to remain without electricity for several days, Gaylene Whenmouth, a spokeswoman for Ergon Energy Cairns, told AP.

"It is still too windy to send crews out to do restoration, but we will be doing that as soon as we can, whenever it is safe to do so," Whenmouth said.

State Disaster Coordination Center spokesman Peter Rekers said thousands of volunteers were on standby to help with the cleanup, and warned residents to be on their guard for deadly animals stirred up by the storm, AP reports.

"Keep your kids away from flooded drains, be aware of snakes and crocodiles," he said. "Those guys will have had a bad night too."

Larry is the third cyclone to hit Australia's east coast this year and the eighth in waters near Australia during this season, which ends April 30.

It appeared to be the biggest storm ever to hit the country's Pacific coast, which generally sees fewer cyclones than the northern and western coasts.

The worst Australian storm on record was Cyclone Tracy, which killed 65 people in the northern city of Darwin in 1974.

[TigerCat_Tania]

Ya, I was watching the weather network last night and they said it was as strong as a category 5...

[Dr. Jack]

Originally Posted by TigerCat_Tania

they said it was as strong as a category 5...

Well that’s not good! Hope our Australia members are safe

[The Judge]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jack

Hope our Australia members are safe

I was just thinking the same thing, Jack.

[Dr. Jack]

Thousands Feared Homeless in Australia

By MERAIAH FOLEY,
Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

Metal roofs littered streets, wooden houses lay in splinters and banana plantations were stripped bare after the most powerful cyclone to hit Australia in three decades lashed the country's eastern coast Monday.

Amazingly, the storm caused no reported fatalities, and only 30 people suffered minor injuries. But the damage from Cyclone Larry, a Category 5 storm with winds up to 180 mph, was expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hardest hit was Innisfail, a farming city of 8,500 people 60 miles south of the tourist city of Cairns in northeastern Queensland state.

"It looks like an atomic bomb hit the place," Innisfail mayor Neil Clarke told Australian television. "It is severe damage. This is more than a local disaster, this is a national disaster."

The town urgently needs accommodation for people whose homes were damaged, a power supply to feed hospitals and other infrastructure, he said.

There was no official count of the homeless Monday, but given the number of homes badly damaged, the figure could run into the thousands, Clarke said.

The casualty toll was so low because people left town or went to shelters after authorities posted warnings. Residents and officials were mindful of the damage Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and Mississippi last August, said Ben Creagh, a spokesman for Queensland state Department of Emergency Services.

"Everyone here studied Katrina and took a lot of messages away, a lot of lessons at the expense of the poor old Yanks," Creagh said. "There was absolutely no complacency at the planning level at all, and I think that shows. ... Good planning, a bit of luck — we've dodged a bullet."

Within hours of the storm's landfall, officials declared a state of emergency, prepared Black Hawk helicopters to run rescue missions and announced cash payouts for victims — $720 for each adult and $290 for each child who lost their home. Prime Minister John Howard indicated more aid was to come.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said 55 percent of homes in Innisfail had been damaged, though rescue teams had yet to get full access to the swamped region. All roads into the town remained blocked late Monday.

Innisfail Barrier Reef Motel owner Amanda Fitzpatrick echoed the mayor's damage assessment.

"We could only go out in the eye of the storm and have a look and it just looks like an atomic bomb has gone off," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Farmers were expected to be among the hardest hit. The region is a major growing region for bananas and sugar cane, and vast tracts of the crops were flattened.

"It looks like someone's gone in there with a slasher and slashed the top off everything," said Bill Horsford, a cane farmer. One lawmaker estimated lost revenues could run to $110 million.

The storm also barreled over a portion of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, damaging a narrow band of coral, said David Wachenfeld, director of science at the government body that cares for the reef.

The reef is more than 1,240 miles long, and the affected area is only about 30 miles across and far from the places where nearly 2 million tourists a year gaze in awe at the coral's vibrant colors and fish life, he said.

It would take 10 to 20 years for new coral to grow and replace the damaged area, he said.

The storm was the most powerful to hit Australia since Christmas Eve 1974, when Cyclone Tracy destroyed the northern city of Darwin, killing 65 people.

A man who answered the phone at an Innisfail evacuation center late Monday said it was too soon to estimate the number of people who lost their homes.

"We are trying to collate at the moment how many houses have been destroyed, how many people we have in shelters," he said. "There are just so many people and so much damage."

[dave nz]

Hey guys

We have no Australian members from the area that was hit.....

I was actually over in that area recently, scary stuff.

[Big Pimpin]

Originally Posted by dave nz

Hey guys

We have no Australian members from the area that was hit.....

I was actually over in that area recently, scary stuff.

Isn't Steel in Australia somewhere on vacation?

[dave nz]

Yep but not in that area thankfully.

[Dr. Jack]

Originally Posted by dave nz

Hey guys

We have no Australian members from the area that was hit.....

I was actually over in that area recently, scary stuff.

Dave, Henry is not from that area? Also I know we have a few other Australia members that don't post often. Hopefully they are all safe!

[dave nz]

Yeah Henry lives a long way from there!

And no other members are near there either....

[Henry09]