– New Zealand braces for ‘worst storm in decades”
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Cyclone
New Cyclone Hits Australia
Added: 16. February 2011
A cyclone struck a glancing blow on Australia’s main northern city today, two weeks after a much stronger storm devastated another part of the weather-weary country.
Cyclone Carlos knocked down trees and power lines and caused limited flooding as it passed the city of Darwin with heavy rain and wind gusts up to 80mph.
Schools, the airport and government buildings were closed, but officials said evacuations were not needed.
Australians Told To FLEE As ‘Catastrophic’ Cyclone Yasi Approaches
Cyclone Yasi – Australia’s Biggest Cyclone in Living Memory
Cyclone Yasi approaches Queensland
Update: – Australia’s Cyclone Yasi may destroy even ‘cyclone proof’ homes (Reuters)
Thousands of residents in Queensland have been warned to ‘just grab each other’ with the category five storm due to hit in the coming hours
(My apology for the bad audio quality. Use the Link to this video ) Thousands of residents in Queensland have been warned to ‘just grab each other’ and get to safety with the category-five Cyclone Yasi due to hit the coast in the coming hours
Thousands of Australians have left their homes for evacuation centres, as cyclone Yasi – predicted to be the worst in the country’s history, nears the Queensland coast. Many residents have stocked up on food and bedded down in shelters to protect themselves from the prospect of furious winds, rains and surging seas on a scale unseen there in generations.
Cyclone Yasi was upgraded overnight to a category five storm – the highest – and is due to hit the coast near Cairns at about midnight local time.
Queensland premier Anna Bligh said the last cyclone of such strength to cross Queensland was in 1918 and advised residents to “just grab each other” and find safety.
“It’s such a big storm, it’s a monster, killer storm,” she said. “This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations.”
Bligh warned that the next 24 hours will see extremely dangerous conditions.
“We are facing a storm of catastrophic proportions in a highly populated area,” she said. “All aspects of this cyclone are going to be terrifying and potentially very, very damaging.
“Do not bother to pack bags. Just grab each other and get to a place of safety. Remember that people are irreplaceable,” she said.
Read moreAustralians Told To FLEE As ‘Catastrophic’ Cyclone Yasi Approaches
Rotting corpses pile up as Myanmar stalls on aid
(CNN puplished this article (check the title with google) but has it entirely rewritten just a few minutes ago. – The Infinite Unknown)
YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) — Myanmar’s cyclone survivors have insufficient fuel to burn the rotting corpses of the dead as the ruling military junta is accused of being too slow in letting aid groups into the country.
Relief agencies say decomposing corpses litter ditches and fields in the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta area as survivors try to conserve fuel for transporting much-needed supplies.
The international community is growing increasingly frustrated with the junta’s lack of progress in granting visas for relief workers and giving clearance for aid flights to land.
They are concerned the lack of medical supplies and clean food and water threatens to increase the already staggering death toll.
Myanmar cyclone survivors desperate for aid
YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) — Bodies are being thrown into rivers by Myanmar cyclone survivors in desperate need of help.
The government-run radio station said Tuesday that 22,464 are confirmed dead and 41,000 are missing, and the United Nations says that up to 1 million could be homeless.
CNN’s Dan Rivers is the first Western journalist to reach Bogalay township, where China’s state-run Xinhua news agency says 10,000 died. He reported miserable conditions.
Rivers said that bodies were being dropped into rivers and that survivors had only small amounts of eggs and rice. The area’s rice mills are destroyed, leaving Bogalay with a five-day supply. Water pumps were also ruined, and fuel was scarce.
Cyclone heads to Mozambique tourist area and Madagascar
MAPUTO, March 13 (Reuters) – The tropical cyclone that has lashed parts of Mozambique, killing 10 people, is expected to hit the southern tourist region of the country before gathering speed on its way to Madagascar, authorities said on Thursday.
Cyclone Jokwe struck ferociously last Friday, displacing 55,000 people, destroying electricity pylons and uprooting trees in the northern Nampula province.
“It is too dangerous for shipping. It is now over the Mozambique channel on its current course and is likely to strike both Mozambique and Madagascar again,” Mussa Mustafa, head of the National Institute of Meteorology, said in an interview.
Read moreCyclone heads to Mozambique tourist area and Madagascar