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.
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