[Mac33]

Cyclone batters Australian coast

Fallen trees near Cairns, Australia
Emergency workers were forced to stay away despite residents' pleas
A powerful tropical cyclone has hit Australia's north-east coast, packing winds of up to 290km/h (180mph).

Tropical Cyclone Larry smashed into Queensland at Innisfail, about 100km (62 miles) south of Cairns, making thousands homeless.

About a dozen people sustained minor injuries and up to 50,000 homes are without power.

A state of emergency has been declared and Prime Minister John Howard has pledged help for the affected areas.




BBC News

[kanaloa]

180mph, sheesh. Our CAT5 is 155 or greater. And to think only a CAT3 hit NO this past year!

<img src="http://www.pronetworks.org/main/images/blurb/cyclonelarry_wideweb__470x362,0.jpg">

Keep your thoughts with the folks in Australia, this looks nasty.

Thanks for posting this Mac, I hadn't heard of it until now. Easy to forget that it's summer Down Under right now.

[augie]

I'm seeing news reports now of the devastation from their ABC. Most houses seemed intact and a few here and there in between others were demolished though this was from a ten second helicopter clip.

Apparently, 1/4 of their sugar cane crop along with their banana farms were hit hard. They said it would take several years to get back to normal.

[Mac33]

I thought you would be interested in this one John. They're certainly finding plenty of problems with this one.

[augie]

I thought you would be interested in this one John. They're certainly finding plenty of problems with this one.

Apparently the Alnina (sp?) just off of South America, cools the waters there and due to the currents, Eastern Australia gets warmer waters which then fuel the hurricanes. They're in the hight of that season.

[b_a88]

Holy Cow, thats a crazy powerful storm. Seems like when ever they get storms down there they are super strong. I hope every thing turns out ok for them down there. I didn't even realise they named them down there either until just now.