1- Cyclone in Australia. Cyclone Bianca in Western Australia not cause so much damage and Cyclone Yasi following Cyclone Anthony in North Queensland had caused devastated damages to properties(thousands of houses were wrecked, shops had been destroyed and the worst is for banana lovers whereby 90% of banana tress were down but no worries if you still have other fruits or if you are taking banana for the potassium, then just take potassium supplement then from nearby pharmacy. The banana tree will regrow since they all not uprooted like palm tress).
Read the chronology event here :
Cyclone Yasi was the largest and most powerful cyclone to hit Queensland in living memory.
Cyclone Yasi made landfall in North Queensland about 1am (AEDT) on February 3 and continues to make its way inland. The key developments:
- The first Yasi-related death was announced today after a 23-year-old man was found dead in his home last night. Police said he was killed by fumes from a generator he was running inside a closed room after the storm knocked out electricity.
- Police are looking for two men not seen since the cyclone, one of whom was reported missing by his sister in Brisbane and the other by an overseas friend on Tuesday after speaking by phone from his yacht at Port Hinchinbrook.
- Cyclone Yasi weakened to a tropical depression overnight and the cyclone warning for inland towns including Mt Isa was cancelled, though locals were warned winds could still reach 90km/h.
- The hardest hit communities are Cardwell, Tully, Innisfail and Mission Beach. There are major concerns of flooding in Townsville, Ingham and Giru. Police will search today for a man last seen moving his boat before the cyclone struck.
- The cyclone has left 150,000 homes without power. Premier Anna Bligh says thousands will be made homeless. Disaster relief payments have been activated for residents affected by the cyclone. There are concerns about water supply in Townsville and Magnetic Island.
2.15pm Victims of Cyclone Yasi returning to their homes should beware of contact with asbestos, the Asbestos Diseases Foundation (ADFA) of Australia said.
ADFA President Barry Robson said "heartbroken families sifting through the remains of their houses searching for valuables may unwittingly expose themselves to asbestos contamination."
"Asbestos is found in many Australian houses built before 1984, as well as in outbuildings and sheds on farms.
2.07pm Queensland's Hamilton Island is welcoming guests back, in an early sign the state's tourism industry is beginning the recovery process after Cyclone Yasi.
Residents, holiday-makers and staff were evacuated on Tuesday as a precautionary measure as the cyclone approached.
Ferry services to the island resumed yesterday, all regularly scheduled flights returned today and all tour operators and other outlets on the island have reopened.
Any guests affected by the evacuation can rebook with the island without incurring any penalties.
1.56pm Cairns.com.au is running a live blog now.
1.45pm The Courier Mail has an impressive multimedia package showing how a low pressure system became one of the biggest storms in Queensland's living memory. You can have a look at it here.
1.38pm Food and other shortages are looming in north Queensland, with the premier on her way back to Brisbane to tackle the critical issue.
Premier Anna Bligh has been in the region touring the devastation left by Cyclone Yasi, but is heading back to Brisbane for high level talks about resupplying the north.
"We have major cuts to the Bruce Highway, so we're working with retailers to get supplies, particularly north of Townsville," she told reporters in Cairns.
Ms Bligh said federal MPs would be heartless to sit at home and watch the disasters unfold and not want to help.
"This is a catastrophic event and it requires all of us to rise to the occasion and that requires us to put politics aside," Ms Bligh told reporters in Cairns.
"I hope there is support next week in Canberra right across the board for people in Queensland who have lost their loved ones, who've lost their homes, their crops, their business."
1.18pm Most telephone services affected by Cyclone Yasi have been restored.
Telstra says some communications services in far north Queensland were affected this morning because important infrastructure was damaged by Yasi but most services are now back on line.
The telco, which earlier reported problems with the 000 service, says emergency calls have not been affected.
1.15pm The Cairns Post has given a wrap of how particular suburbs have been affected. You can find it here.
1.06pm The flood levy will not be used to pay for the cyclone recovery but victims will be exempt from the one-off tax, says Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Instead money will be raised through budget cuts, Ms Gillard has warned from Townsville.
"But we will do that to make sure we have the resources available to rebuild in north and far north Queensland.
"We will rebuild from the flood as we have to rebuild here too. We will do both."
The criteria for exemption will be the same as that for flood victims, who will be excused from the levy if they had to seek government assistance due to the disaster.
"People who ... have been assisted by government because they have been directly hit will not need to pay the flood levy, in the same way that people hit by flooding don't have to pay," Ms Gillard said.
12.49pm Two centres are open in Tully for residents left homeless by the monster storm.
Red Cross staff have been brought in from Brisbane to help man the centres amid estimates about a third of the town's homes were damaged or destroyed.
The Cassowary Coast Regional Council has appealed for people to bring food and bedding if they have it but says food, gas bottles for cooking and some bedding will be provided.
The centres are located at the Tully Red Cross Headquarters in Bryant Street and the Tully Mill Recreation Hall, on Writ Lane.
12.40pm State disaster co-ordinator Ian Stewart says there have been 11 cases of possible looting since the cyclone including an opportunistic break and enter at a Cairns pharmacy on Wednesday night.
Mr Stewartsays it's a disgrace that people would consider such action at a time when the trauma being suffered by the community is so great.
He says not all of the offenders have yet been charged.
12.33pm Reports say there are still two people missing after Cyclone Yasi. Queensland's disaster coordinator Ian Stewart has confirmed two people remain missing following Cyclone Yasi, both males in the Cardwell area.
Mr Stewart says police are working to find the men - one of whom was reported missing by his sister in Brisbane - and the other by an overseas friend on Tuesday after speaking by phone from his yacht at Port Hinchinbrook.
Another man that had been reported missing was found yesterday.
12.13pm All troops based in Townsville will help clean up cyclone-hit north Queensland in the biggest deployment since Cyclone Tracy, Prime Minister Julia Gillard annouced today.
"We have a large standing presence here in Townsville and in this region and so there's 4000 soldiers being able to assist during the cyclone recovery," Ms Gillard said.
Defence said they were relying on troops based locally at the moment but if they needed more, could call extra troops to the region.
12.11pm A ship carrying 2750 tonnes of essential supplies will steam into Townsville today to resupply north Queensland.
"That's the equivalent of 110 trucks of food and equipment and supplies," Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said.
He said access was now available to Tully, and alternative road routes were being considered to resupply communities north of Townsville cut off by the cyclone.
11.56am The federal government's flood levy has nothing to do with Queensland's lack of insurance, Premier Anna Bligh says. Ms Bligh said she wanted to clear up the confusion after reports yesterday that Queensland was the only major state in Australia without a comprehensive catastrophe insurance policy.
The premier said that under natural disaster relief arrangements in Australia, the Commonwealth paid 75 per cent of the costs of natural disasters that occurred in any state, while the state paid the remaining 25 per cent.
"We've made a judgement that because of the number of natural disasters we have and the nature of them, it's actually more cost effective for us to deal with our money when it happens (and not pay for insurance)," she told the Seven Network.
"That's nothing to do with the levy, that's the state money and we will pay our share.
11:31am Telstra customers hit by Cyclone Yasi in areas north of Ingham may not be able to dial Triple zero or make other calls. Telstra says some communications services north of Ingham have been affected due to the loss of mains power and backup generators and this could affect 13, 1800, STD, IDD, mobile and 000 services.
11:29am Anna Bligh says cyclone recovery stations will be set up in centres like Tully as early as today. Ms Bligh is in the far-north city of Cairns today which she says will be an important staging post for the recovery. She says with the Bruce Highway cut by flooding opening an inland route for trucks between Townsville and Cairns is today's priority in order to get food supplies to the north.
11:25am North Queensland senator forced to nail up his windows to withstand Cyclone Yasi says he's still not convinced of the need for the disaster levy. Liberal senator Ian Macdonald has offices in Ayr and Townsville, and lives in Ayr, which felt winds of around 135km/h and received about 140mm of rain in 24 hours.
He said "I don't think the flood levy is justified under any circumstance," he said. "Most of us will be insured and for many of us we have been through it before."
11:15am Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott maintains the government should cut the fat in its budget instead of imposing a levy to pay for reconstruction work in flood ravaged areas.
Mr Abbott wouldn't specify which government programs should be cut to raise the funds but said it was important to let Australians know the Liberal Party is on their side.
10.48am Residents in the worst hit areas of Queensland are about to see "an army of people" coming to help says Premier Anna Bligh. "...whether it's police, electricity workers, Red Cross workers or armed services people," she said.
"They are coming and they are on their way and you will start to see them in your streets gradually over the next couple of days."
The army has a convoy based on the Cardwell Range and should soon be able to get into Tully to supply water, food and begin the clean-up job, she said.
10:39am There will be no change to emergency payment rules. Treasurer Wayne Swan says anyone who lost power for 48 hours as a result of Cyclone Yasi will be eligible for federal emergency assistance payments.
He says payments for people in the cyclone zone are being made under the same criteria applied to flood victims in Queensland's southeast and central regions.
Under the rules anyone whose home was destroyed or damaged or were without power for at least 48 hours can claim emergency payments of one-thousand dollars per adult and 400 dollars per child.
10.37am In the first cyclone-related death, a 23-year-old man has suffocated from using a generator inside a closed room after Cyclone Yasi cut power supplies, Premier Anna Bligh said.
She warned other north Queenslanders not to put themselves at risk.
Ms Bligh said the incident happened near Ingham.
"Our condolences for the family of this young man," Ms Bligh told reporters in Cairns.
10.36am Federal MP Bob Katter has praised Prime Minister Julia Gillard's handling of Cyclone Yasi, saying both she and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh have come through with "shining colours".
10.32am Centrelink will be back in action in Townsville on Saturday to help cyclone-affected residents.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard also said those who need it can apply for the disaster relief cash payments by calling the hotline 180 22 66, or contacting Centrelink.
Centrelink in Townsville was closed by blackouts, although Cairns was unaffected.
"We'll be looking to get mobile services into the really hard hit, devastated communities like Cardwell and Tully," Ms Gillard said.
She said police had been door knocking in Cardwell last night to check whether any residents needed rescuing but nobody had been found in such circumstances so far.
The main problem in Cardwell and Tully now was providing temporary accommodation for those who had lost their homes.
Ms Bligh says heavy rain on Thursday hampered some of the relief effort but residents of the small towns have not been forgotten.
She told the Seven Network "everybody is poised and ready and hopefully the weather will give us just enough of a break today to get those resources on the ground."
9.49am 150-thousand customers remain without power across north Queensland today and could do so for weeks.
In Cairns 37,000 customers are still without power.
Ergon's regional services manager Geoff Bowes says every effort is being made to restore services in the city but safety comes first.
9.36am Water police will join the search for a man missing from Port Hinchinbrook after trying to move his boat before Cyclone Yasi hit the north Queensland coast.
The man is described as being aged 30 to 40, with a tanned complexion and of a solid build. He's believed to be on a yacht named Panku.
The weather bureau has warned wind gusts of around 90 kilometres an hour are possible in the northwest region and localised flash flooding and river rises in the Gulf country today.
The bureau says torrential rain is still falling in the area where it crossed the coast, prompting a severe weather warning for flash flooding along the Queensland coast from Mossman to Ayr including the cities of Cairns and Townsville.
9.17am Queensland's cyclone is even affecting Victoria, with the north and northeast of the state expected to be hit with heavy rainfall in the next few days, remnants of Yasi.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is predicting thunderstorms, flash flooding and rainfall in excess of 100mm in the northeast.
Emergency services are warning people in these areas to monitor the situation.
"Therese and I, as Queenslanders, feel for everybody."
Mr Rudd said people in Europe were asking how the state could possibly "cop it again like this".
8.53am An aerial search for a man missing in Port Hinchinbrook has commenced.
8.49am A message sprayed on debris shows the spirit of a home-owner after the building was destroyed in Tully.
8.40am Townsville's airport has reopened and passenger services have resumed after Cyclone Yasi battered north Queensland.
The airport's runway was reopened yesterday for military and defence aircraft helping with the recovery.
That will be expanded to passenger services today, but airport authorities said flights may still be limited.
8.18am In some good news for Townsville residents, authorities say the city's water treatment plant is back up and running, amid fears the city would run out of supplies.
However, residents are still being warned to limit what they use.
8.10am Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Anna Bligh will tour affected communities in North Queensland today.
Anna Bligh said the absence of any deaths at this point was encouraging, but she also warned that as devastated communities are cleaned up and searched, there could be "some sad news in the next couple of days".
"But what we know is we didn't see a mass loss of life in evacuation centres so that's a great relief," she said.
Ms Gillard flew into Townsville last night and says she hopes to offer some words of comfort and talk about rebuilding to those affected when she tours the region today.
7.43am Also on The Punch, political editor Malcolm Farr says that it's not the disasters themselves that are backing up arguments about climate-change, but the freakish scale of them. The public, and pollies, may be more receptive to the Gillard government introducing a carbon-tax within the next year.
A police spokeswoman said a family member in Canada had contacted police worried about their loved one, who had called them from a yacht out on the bay.
The man told his family he was attempting to move his yacht into the mangroves for safety, but has not been heard from since.
7.28am Queensland Police released this warning earlier this morning: SEVERE WEATHER WARNING for Damaging Winds and Flash Flooding.
For people in the Gulf Country, Northwest, western parts of the Central West, far western parts of the Northern Goldfields and northern parts of the Channel Country districts.
At 5am, Ex-Tropical Cyclone Yasi was located about 75 km west southwest of Mount Isa and was moving in a west southwest direction at about 23 kilometres per hour.
7.02am The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for moderate to major flooding occurring along the Herbert River between Gleneagle and Halifax, with the flood peak currently in the Halifax area.
River levels at Ingham and Gairloch will fall slowly this morning. Any renewed rises are not expected to return to the levels of yesterday.
6.30am Queensland's government ministers plan to travel to north Queensland at the weekend to discuss the impact of Cyclone Yasi on the region.
Premier Anna Bligh says the government will push ahead with the already scheduled community cabinet meetings at Proserpine and Airlie Beach from Sunday and the meetings will also tackle broader issues than just those facing Proserpine and Airlie Beach.
5.30am The Australian has an excellent explaination of how Cairns dodged the bullet:
Until as late as Thursday night, meteorologists were not sure whether Yasi would wipe out a large town. In the 24 hours before landfall, Yasi had been tracking straight for Cairns, before twisting south towards Innisfail.
Then, for three hours before it devastated even smaller communities along the Cassowary Coast, it started to slow - just in time to avoid coinciding with a king tide that would have produced killer storm surges.
Yasi's eventual landfall, in the tiny communities midway between Cairns and Townsville, made all the difference between property destruction and death.
Read the full explanation at The Australian.
4.18am The Courier-Mail reports one of two men reported missing in the Innisfail area has been located and police are optimistic another man, last seen moving his boat in Port Hinchinbrook, will be found.
"He said he was moving his vessel into the mangroves to be safe from the storm surge. We haven't heard from him," a police spokesman said. "We can't get into that area by foot. We're trying to get a police water search as soon as we can, as well as do an aerial survey of the area."
3.22am Daryl Webber has told how he celebrated his 42nd birthday on Wednesday night waiting for Cyclone Yasi to smash down on his home at Silky Oak, 5km south of Tully. Little of the home he shared with his mates Andrew Schirner and Mick Pearson was left yesterday. But they managed to celebrate the passing of the cyclone with a beer and a laugh.
2.32am Virgin Blue flights to and from Cairns, Townsville, Hamilton Island and Proserpine will resume normal timetables today after they were suspended on Wednesday. At 1pm (AEST) Virgin Blue will ferry 150 emergency service personnel and equipment to Cairns to assist in the Cyclone Yasi recovery.
Jetstar services to to Cairns, Hamilton Island, Proserpine and Townsville should also resume today providing there are no adverse weather warnings.
Townsville Airport was re-opened yesterday for military and defence aircraft, and passenger services are expected to resume today.
2.11am The Daily Telegraph reports that in a sweep by helicopter from Cairns to Ingham it has counted at least 100 totally unsalvageable homes and countless more damaged properties.
12.34am New South Wales will send more than 100 State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers and staff to Queensland to bolster the response to Tropical Cyclone Yasi, departing for Cairns on Saturday morning.
11.40pm The cyclone warning for the tropical interior from west of Richmond to the Northern Territory border, including Mt Isa and Winton has been cancelled. The Bureau of Meteorology says Yasi has weakened into a tropical depression.
Damaging winds, with gusts above 90 km/h, are still possible through parts of the western tropical interior and southwest of Queensland, while severe thunderstorms could produce flash flooding.
11.02pm Julia Gillard arrived in Townsville tonight and will inspect damage in the city tomorrow morning before visiting other affected areas of north Queensland. "I would prefer that my visit to Queensland was for other purposes but we're here because nature's been continuing to throw challenges to Queensland," she said.
9.04pm Police will launch a sea and air search tomorrow for a man missing since moving his boat before Cyclone Yasi struck. The missing person report was lodged from Canada. A police spokesman said:
7.24pm People in remote parts of central Australia have been warned to prepare for possible isolation. They are urging anyone who doesn't want to become isolated in the community, or those who are frail or ill, to stay with friends and relatives in a regional centre such as Tennant Creek or Alice Springs
6.56pm Visiting Cardwell today, Premier Anna Bligh described the situation as devastating.
6.47pm Police are investigating reports that two people are missing in the Innisfail-Cardwell area, with fears one man was on a boat around the time of the cyclone. "Hopefully we'll locate them alive and well somewhere," Deputy Police Commisioner Ian Stewart said.
6.34pm Virgin Blue will resume normal flight schedule tomorrow at Cairns Airport.6.27pm A flash flood warning has been issued for people near the coast from Mossman to Ayr, including Cairns and Townsville. Heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding is occurring near the coast between Mossman and Ayr and is expected to continue this evening and overnight.
5.34pm In Townsville today, Premier Anna Bligh say she's surprised category five cyclone didn't cause more damage but also warned that it is too early to know the true extent of the devastation.
4.54pm A church in Cardwell lacks walls and a roof. Its pews lie on the floor and a hymn book sits open at a page with the words: "We all thank our God with hearts and voices Who wondrous things hath done."
4.35pm Townsville could run out of fresh drinking water tonight after power outages shut down the water treatment plant.4.32pm The federal government will be taking a further axe to the budget to help pay for the damage from Cyclone Yasi. Prime Minister Julia Gillard concedes the government is preparing to make further budget cuts. However, there will be no further burden on taxpayers than the $1.8 billion flood levy that will be debated in parliament next week.
4.26pm Cyclone Yasi has been downgraded to a category one. Residents near the Northern Territory border and at Mt Isa remain on notice for damaging wind gusts and heavy rain.
4.21pm Mining giant Xstrata is evacuating personnel from its operations at Mount Isa and Cloncurry in the face of Cyclone Yasi. Only a handful of essential personnel will remain on site for critical site monitoring activities after 4pm Queensland time (5pm AEDT).
4.03pm The 600 people of Julia Creek, 700km from the coast, are waiting for their ever cyclone. Mckinlay Shire Council mayor Paul Woodhouse said:
3.46pm In Tully, traffic lights have been bent in half. The main street is littered with debris, roofing iron, glass, wood and other building material. Roofs, torn off several business, have either landed in the street or been wrapped around poles. But the iconic Golden Gumboot, a symbol of Tully's claim to fame as one of the wettest places in Australia, is still intact.
3.41pm Cyclone relief rorts won't be tolerated, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said as she announced financial assistance worth $1000 per adult and $400 per child. "They (false claimants) should expect to feel the full force of the law and there won't be any mercy shown," she said.3.36pm Fatalities in cyclone-hit Cardwell can't be ruled out, Cassowary Coast mayor Bill Shannon says. The town bore the full force of Cyclone Yasi, with half of its homes significantly damaged, and about 100 locals chose not to leave. A helicopter will search for stranded people when the winds die down. "I won't be satisfied until we get in there," Cr Shannon said.
3.33pm In Hughenden, 35 of the town's 1500 residents are waiting in an evacuation centre, for predicted heavy rain as the eye of Cyclone Yasi moves to the north of the town.
3.28pm Thousands of north Queenslanders have lost phone connections, with 25 Telstra mobile phone stations out, and 10,000 landlines not operating. Meanwhile, 177,000 homes were without power this afternoon. Only 15 per cent of Townsville had electricity supply, the whole of Ingham was out, 34 per cent of Cairns had power, and half of the homes in Mackay and Proserpine were out.
3.24pm Seven patients needed to be evacuated from Tully Hospital after the township south of Cairns lost power.
3.18pm One reader who works for an insurance company has sent this plea:
"People with non-urgent claims (should) wait and stop clogging up our phone lines and allow flood and cyclone claims to be lodged," he said.
"Queues are ridiculous in call centres and people with urgent total loss claims are waiting whilst non-urgent claims... are coming through."
3.03pm A woman has been filmed risking her life during the tidal surge at Airlie Beach, standing on the water's edge as it is pounded by huge waves.
Watch the video here
She was engulfed by several waves while apparently hamming it up for onlookers, her back to the ocean. At one point she can be seen letting go of a coastal fence as one wave engulfs her, water rising over a metre above her head.
Shortly afterwards a man can be heard off-camera shouting "Get out of there, you goose!" before the woman wanders calmly away from the dangerous tide.
2.46pm Frank Costantino got an unsettling hint of what was coming when the birds disappeared from the rainforest around their house. He and his partner are trapped in their home by debris after the cyclone passed directly over them in Feluga, west of Mission Beach.
“When I first moved up to the area I was told by an old-timer a good indication if the cyclone’s going to keep you away is to look at the birds,” he told news.com.au.
“On Monday morning it was dead quiet. I had an idea then that we were gonna be in a bit of strife.”
Read more about his ordeal here.
2.22pm More than 1500 calls were made to the State Emergency Service last night, but that is expected to grow as people return to their damaged homes. The Department of Communities would identify people who needed longer-term housing.
Red Cross teams were moving into Tully and Innisfail to establish more permanent evacuation centres for people who were made homeless by the cyclone.
An additional 500 SES personnel would be in the region by next Wednesday, including 100 from NSW.
Cairns Base Hospital's emergency department reopened at 11am (AEST) today and the temporary facility at Fretwell Park would close on Thursday afternoon.
A decision on when to reopen schools would be made this afternoon.
2.06pm Preliminary reports from aerial crews have found hundreds of homes and boats have structural damage in the hardest-hit area where Cyclone Yasi made landfall, Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts says.
At Cardwell about 60 properties have major structural damage, 100 have "medium level damage" and 50 have minor damage, he said.
At Mission Beach about 22 properties have major structural damage.
At Tully Heads, 21 properties have major damage, 19 have medium damage and 12 have minor damage.
And in the Hinchinbrook area, 70 boats in a harbour have major damage to them.
Mr Roberts said authorities still had not been able to enter the communities of Silkwood, Halifax, Lucinda and Taylors Beach.
He said a second storm surge of half a metre above the highest tide level that had affected Cairns and Townsville had passed. However, there were still concerns about flash flooding from heavy rain in areas such as Ingham and Giru.
1.51pm Police have advised Mt Isa residents to "act now" and not be complacent before Yasi hits the town as a Category 1 cyclone tonight.
"Locals should listen to warnings, develop safety plans, secure houses and valuables and look to the safety of neighbours," said Superintendent Ray Pringle. He said people might have to stay in secured places for up to a day, and should plan to be without public utilities for three days.
Emergency Management Queensland assistant director general Bruce Grady said it was not just destructive winds which were likely to result from this system, but also the possibility of heavy rain and flooding.
"At this stage the cyclone is expected to impact areas including Richmond, Julia Creek and Mount Isa later today. The next eight hours should not be wasted," Mr Grady said.
1.42pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has called on Australians to dig deep again for the Disaster Relief Fund, which is now extended to Cyclone Yasi victims.
The fund stood at $192,470,566 today.
"I know they have been digging deep but my message once again is that we need you to keep digging," Ms Bligh said in a statement.
"If you've already donated I'm asking you to think about giving again.
1.33pm Cardwell looks like it's been hit by a tsunami, the Courier-Mail reports. The coastal community about 50km south of Tully is completely devastated and looks more like a junkyard.
The marina is destroyed, million-dollar boats have been ripped apart, homes have had roofs torn off, buildings are just shells, power lines are down everywhere and the town is barely recognisable.
1.08pm Here come the price rises. Remember when Cyclone Larry wiped out 90 per cent of our banana supply? The same applies to Yasi, with early estimates of $13 a kilo predicted right through 2011.
"It did then, and I can't see any reason why it wouldn't now," National Farmers Federation president Jock Laurie said referring to the 2006 disaster.
Watch the video
12.31pm Even South Australians can't escape Cyclone Yasi.
A flood watch has been issued for people in the Northeast Pastoral, Northwest Pastoral and Flinders districts north of Tarcoola to Woomera and to Broken Hill, where the remnants of Yasi are likely to strike over the weekend.
Current forecasts estimate rainfall between five millimetres and 50mm, with possible heavy falls of up to 100mm.
12.14pm The small community of Mt Surprise, 250km southwest of Cairns, has survived Cyclone Yasi at a category three intensity without major loss, according to local Trish Wallace.
"It calmed down for about three-quarters of an hour or so, then it started blowing again, but not as strong as it was before we went through the eye.
"It was pretty scary through the night. We could hear the wind screaming under the roof," Ms Wallace said.
Dawn showed unexpectedly little damage.
An Atherton fireman, who did not wish to be named, said the tableland town west of Cairns seems largely unscathed.
Unlike fields of bananas down on the coast, corn crops just outside the town were still standing.
12.10pm News.com.au reader David Lord sent us these pictures from near his home in Mission Beach. Trees have been stripped bare, and houses severely damaged.
12.03pm Cardwell resident Chris Stoter did not even hear the roof being ripped off his brother-in-law's house for the fury of Cyclone Yasi.
Picture: Jamie Hanson
11.19am This description of being in the eye of cyclone Yasi comes from Mission Beach local Ken Byce.
She said major flooding was now a huge concern and waterlogged Queensland can expect more evacuations.
"We are now seeing strong flooding activity in the Tully River through to Giru," she said.
10.52am Areas around Mount Isa should expect category one conditions around 8pm tonight. Authorities urge residents to heed all warnings as it will be unlike any storm they've experienced in the past.
10.49am Anna Bligh spoke of victims who are suffering through their second bout of cyclone devastation after Larry. "They've lost their homes, they've lost their farms, they've lost their crops, they've lost their livelihood."
"Can I say to you: You are not alone."
10.45am Premier Anna Bligh described the situation as "still very dangerous" in a press conference., as Twitter user Josh Bavas describes.
Mission Beach has seen some damage "but perhaps not as much as earlier reports," said Ms Bligh.
10.37am Ms Bligh reports that one in three houses in Tully have had their roofs ripped or have been completely destroyed.
10.33am There was no structural damage to any of the evacuation centres where over 10,000 people spent a stressful night.
A second storm surge with the current high tide is creating significant water rises and flooding in areas. She said evacuation centres will remain in lockdown until the tide recedes.
10.31am Premier Anna Bligh described the situation as "still very dangerous" in a press conference. The hardest hit areas are in and around Innisfail: Tully, Silkwood, Mission Beach and Cardwell.
10.28am Queensland Police have warned people to stay away from the coast, particularly the Esplanade area of Cairns, as the second storm surge creates significant flooding.
10.20am The Bureau of Meteorology have released flood warnings for coastal rivers and streams between Cairns and Townsville and adjacent inland catchments, and between Townsville and Sarina and adjacent inland catchments.
There are also flood warnings for several rivers in the area.
9.50am Daylight has revealed a devastated landscape at Innisfail, which was devastated by Cyclone Larry in 2006.
"It's just like the place has been sprayed with napalm," said Cassowary councillor Bill Horsford.
"There's hardly a green leaf around, all of the beautiful mountains are now brown."
9.34am LIVE FROM 9.50 AEDT - Live streaming video from Cairns with the latest updates from the scene. Click the video above to watch.
9.25am Castaway Resort, an oceanfront hotel on Mission Beach, has copped a hammering from the cyclone. Paul Toogood has posted photos of the damage on Yfrog.
Picture credit: Yfrog user @CastawayResort
9.17am Queensland Police are urging people in Cairns and Townsville to be patient and stay indoors as conditions are still unsafe.
Technical experts are performing damage assessments so the all clear can be given for residents to safely return home and travel on roads.
9.11am Palm Island - which was not evacuated - is "a mess" with "some structural damage to residences" according to reports from other users of the Queensland Police Facebook page. Thankfully there have been no reported casualties.
9.01am Callers to ABC radio describe their experiences in the cyclone, saying Larry was "nothing compared to this".
One woman tearfully pleads for people to think of those on farms as she tells of writing her phone number on her horses - which are now lost - in the hope they would be found again. Another resident describes "100 foot coconut trees" planted in 1918 bent in half by the winds.
8.54am As daylight breaks, pictures are coming in of the cyclone damage in Tully. This photograph was taken on Black Street. Pic: John Wilson
And this is Butler Street where awnings have been torn from shopfronts. Pic: John Wilson
8.51am Good news comes in threes and for Queensland that means babies who couldn't wait to be born during Cyclone Yasi.
Premier Anna Bligh says two came into the world at Innisfail hospital right in the midst of the monster storm along with the little girl born in a Cairns evacuation centre this morning.
She's guessing they'll be some of the most sought-after baby photos globally.
8.39am David Brook, general manager of the Mission Beach Elandra Resort said the area now looked like "Vietnam (in the war movie) Apocalypse Now".
Trees are down, cars have been swept away, roofs have been torn away and the sand on the beach has disappeared, Mr Brook said.
"Nothing's been spared.
"The devastation is phenomenal, like nothing I've ever experienced," he said, noting that he's seen at least five cyclones hit the area over the past 20 years.
8.29am There is "virtually nothing standing" in Tully, says Tully Times reporter Linda Timms about the surrounding rainforest.
From her home at the base of Mount Tyson, Ms Timms said on ABC Radio she had no view of the mountain through the trees before the cyclone, but now it is a clear view.
8.18am The scene at Cyclone Yasi's ground zero is one of devastation, but even police who bunkered down at Mission Beach don't know just how bad it is.
Police say trees had been reduced to sticks, streets were littered with debris, and some buildings had been damaged, but conditions are still too dangerous to allow even a cursory assessment of the damage.
"Around 10pm (AEST) there was this massive roar and we could hear vegetation being shredded to pieces," said officer in charge Sergeant Dan Gallagher.
8.06am The Bureau of Meteorology has downgraded Yasi to a category two cyclone and released an updated tracking map.
They said "Yasi continues to weaken, but it is producing heavy rain and dangerous wind gusts as it moves across the tropical interior.
"Yasi is SE of Georgetown and will be near Mt Isa tonight as a tropical Low."
7.41am 90 per cent of the streets of Tully are expected to be extensively damaged.
"We do expect to see Tully experiencing some very very high levels of damage to buildings, to vegetation and potentially to other infrastructure," Anna Bligh told Sky News.
7.36am Ms Bligh said six people, aged in their 60s, who were trapped in a unit at Port Hinchinbrook overnight were safe and well on Thursday morning.
"I'm very pleased to advise they're safe," she said.
"I'm sure they had tough night."
7.31am A baby has girl has been born in a Cairns evacuation centre. She arrived at 6.09am (AEST) after her mother Akiko Pruss went into labour three hours ago in the first aid room of Redlynch State College.
Mrs Pruss has made it clear her second child will not be called Yasi.
Premier Anna Bligh said on Channel 9: "in the midst of all of this devastation, new life in some very touching circumstances."
"I'm sure it will bring a lot of smiles to faces in that centre today after such a difficult and distressing night."
7.24am Ms Bligh said while Cairns had been spared the worst of the monster storm, it was too early to have even basic assessments of the damage in some of the hardest hit communities such as Cardwell, to the south of Mission Beach.
"It's far too early yet to start talking about dodging bullets," she said.
"Potentially there's quite a lot of structural damage to essential services."
7.18am There have been no reports of any deaths or serious injuries as a result of Cyclone Yasi, Premier Anna Bligh, which is "a great relief" she told the Nine Network.
She said Cairns had been spared the worst of the monster storm, with the smaller communities of Mission Beach, Tully, Tully Heads, and Cardwell bearing Yasi's full force.
6.52am Joseph from Lowry, 25km south of Innisfail, told ABC Radio the view from his house is "total devastation," and said his neighbour across the road has lost his roof.
Sonya, from Tully, stayed with relatives, and said they went through a "very frightening night". A neighbour in the apartment above bunkered down with them after the roof above him was ripped off. The roof of the senior citizens' hall nearby is also gone.
Sonya said she is "dreading going around the corner" to see what her own house looks like.
6.43am El-Arish resident Paul Osbourne said the winds were the most extreme he's ever experienced, and described the walls of his brick home vibrating around him.
"It was just full on spray, you couldn't tell in what direction the wind was coming from," he told AAP.
He said trees were going down everywhere and branches were cleanly ripped off by gusts the bureau has put as high as 290km/h.
"It was unbelievable, trees were coming down and hitting the roof, there was this incredible noise," he said.
6.36am Cairns appears to have been spared the worst of Cyclone Yasi's fury, but thousands of residents have spent a scary night in evacuation centres that lost power.
Police who conducted limited patrols during the tempest say damage appears to be minimal. They saw no major structural damage, but a spokesman for Cairns Regional Council Mayor Val Schier said they expect to find more in the morning.
6.28am Dozens of powerlines have been brought down by cyclonic winds. More than 170,000 homes are without power, including 40,000 in Cairns, and 70,000 in Townsville.
6.18am Amid the chaos and devastation of Cyclone Yasi a baby is being born at a Cairns evacuation centre. Akiko Pruss went into labour at the evacuation centre at Redlynch State College at 2.45am (AEST).
"She's been in labour for a few hours," Cairns councillor Linda Cooper told AAP. "She's doing really well...Today's actually her due date."
6.03am Cyclone Yasi has been downgraded to a category three storm, but remains dangerous. The "very destructive" core, with gusts up to 205 km/h, is continuing to move inland west of Cardwell towards the Georgetown area.
"Yasi is moving inland and weakening slowly, but remains a dangerous cyclone," the Bureau of Meteorology said.
5.47am Funnily enough the US Weather Channel has gone nuts for the storm in the US, but makes no mention of cyclone Yasi. Their outlook for Cairns is for scattered thunderstorms and a 60% chance of rain.
5.36am The Daily Telegraph has broken down what the cyclone will mean for some Queensland industries. Up to $500 million worth of sugar cane and banana crops are at risk, doubling the losses already suffered from the recent floods.
It's also another huge blow to tourism after thousands of staff and guests were evacuated from hotels.
4:25am Queensland Police have received widespread reports of widespread damage and destruction but no reported injuries or deaths so far.
4:10am Cyclone Yasi has been downgraded to category 4 and is expected to weaken, according to the latest Bureau of Meteorology report.
Meanwhile northern Queenslanders were bracing for devastating scenes at first light. Early reports suggest the communities of Mission Beach, where the category five monster made landfall about midnight (AEST), nearby Tully, and Innisfail, 50km north of ground zero, are the worst hit. Yasi's fury was felt hundreds of kilometres away, in Cairns to the north, and Townsville to the south, and all the places in between.
4:00am The eye of the storm is passing over Tully as the predicted storm surge into Townsville appears to be staying well below the worst forecast, thanks to a receding tide. Meanwhile the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre said there are unconfirmed reports of rainfall of up to 200 mm in some areas.
3:20am Cyclone Yasi is crossing the north Queensland coast near Mission Beach and is starting to unleash the upper range of its violent 290km/h winds. Mission Beach is now sitting in the eye of the cyclone, with families converging on the streets to inspect the damage. Resident Nicky Smith was bracing for a second round of devastation, after the first wave had done minimal damage to her home.
Residents have reported sheets of roof iron have been ripped from a Townsville shopping centre and seeing metal awnings fly down the street. Castle Hill resident Wil Kemp described the conditions as "scary".
1.06am The weather bureau's latest update states: The large destructive core of Cyclone Yasi is starting to cross the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell, with a dangerous storm tide and battering waves to the south of the cyclone centre.
12.50am More than 100 employees on Dunk Island, just a few kilometres off the coast of Mission Beach, are bunkered down in a concrete wing of a staff accommodation block waiting for Cyclone Yasi to pass. They had lost mobile phone communication but the resort was equipped with satellite phones and generators.
12.43am Cassowary Coast councillor Ross Sorbello said his house was shaking under the force of winds of up to 290km/h. "We're already at a stage where it's worse than it was during Larry. I don't remember the house shaking like that last time," he told AAP. "The wind and rain outside are howling, it's a horrible sound."
12.34am The major evacuation centre in Cairns has lost power. The power went out about just over an hour ago, throwing blackness over the 2500 evacuees holed up in the Stockland Shopping Centre in Earlville (pictured below) after early morning evacuations.
12.19am A report of roofs coming off on The Strand in Townsville, and in Cairns there's are report of wind picking up, "whipping through the city with a shriek". Gulliver resident Carly Lubicz says: "The rain is pelting and, while we can't go outside, trees are leaning over as they're whipped by the wind.'
12.04am The weather bureau's latest update says Cyclone Yasi is expected to cross the coast near Mission Beach, south of Innisfail, close to midnight (Queensland time).
11.41pm Premier Anna Bligh says people in affected areas may need to be self sufficient for a couple of days. She said she wouldn't "sugar coat" the difficulties ahead for far north Queenslanders. "We will do everything in our power to minimise that time but that's not in our control, it will depend on conditions, if we can get helicopters up and how badly damaged roads are." Her warning comes as 89,000 homes have had power cut. At her last media update for the evening she said: "We are waiting anxiously with you ... we hope that you can feel our thoughts. We hope to see you safe and well tomorrow morning."
11.39pm More on the call to police for evacuation assistance: Six people in their 60s at Port Hinchinbrook in a storm surge area made the call, and have been given telephone support.
11.34pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says reports of an 18m wave at Townsville are false. Waves breaking over a buoy have turned it upside down, causing it to give inaccurate measurements.
11.04pm The latest projection from the weather bureau shows how Yasi is expected to remain a Category 1 cyclone as far inland as Mt Isa.
10.52pm The mayor of Palm Island, Alf Lacey, has rejected claims his people had been forgotten and said residents were bunkered down in homes and four evacuation centres. "We've been planning for these events for many years," Mr Lacey, who is also chairman of the Local Disaster Management Group, said. "Palm certainly is in safe hands and everything is in order."10.50pm Police report a person at Innisfail has called them, asking to evacuate. Emergency workers cannot respond, other than give advice on sheltering, police say. "These are not conditions in which we can send out emergency workers," Premier Anna Bligh said this evening. "These are not conditions where you can put up a helicopter to do a winch rescue. All of that is now beyond the realm of possibility."
10.39pm Across North Queensland, more than 61,000 homes are without power.
10.30pm Reader Andrew Walker from London said he was concerned for his British sister in Cairns.
10.04pm Emergency services say they will not risk the lives of their personnel during the height of the cyclone. They warn that people should now be bunkered down in homes or among the thousands who have moved into one of 20 evacuation centres across the region.
9.52pm An email from reader Chris Beston: "I live in Cairns and I am an ex Adelaide person, its starting to get really windy now and the lights are starting to flicker on and off, just wish it would hurry up and hit so we can deal with it...".
Our thoughts are with you and others in North Queensland tonight, Chris.
9.39pm Powerlines are under threat and Anna Bligh has warned of "a catastrophic failure of essential services". An inland "spine" of transmission towers which has never been through a Category 5 cyclone will be tested; Bligh says if it fails there could be a total failure of power to parts of North Queensland.
There is also a warning of a second storm surge tomorrow morning about 9.30am local time when the tide rises again. Winds will still be strong and authorities are warning that lives could be put at risk if people venture out in the early morning to inspect damage when the tide is due to surge.
It was a sombre press conference - authorities are asking people to brace for scenes of total devastation tomorrow morning after the storm passes.
9.34pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is holding a media conference. She's warned that although the eye of the cyclone isn't expected to cross the coast until midnight (Queensland time), its destructive core will cross the coast much earlier - starting now - and continue for about four or five hours.
9.26pm The power is out on Magnetic Island, off Townsville. Resident Gisela Edwards said: "It is very squally, but the wind is not constant."
9.17pm From the second floor of the Sebel Cairns, Gavin King reports: "Looking at the window we can see vast tracts of blackness as entire suburbs lose power." Read more updates from The Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin reporters in the Cover It Live blog at the bottom of this page.
8.57pm Authorities fear some tourists in Cairns may underestimate Yasi's deadly threat - with backpackers crowding on to balconies at city resorts, posing for photos and chanting ''Yasi, Yasi, Yasi - Oi, Oi, Oi".
8.49pm The Cairns Post's Simon Crerar reports: "The cyclone siren is sounding in Cairns CBD and it is a horrible noise."
8.41pm At least one roof has been torn off, trees have been torn down and lights are flickering in the Innisfail region. Cassowary Coast Mayor Bill Shannon says he's seen the roof a building torn off near the council chambers where 500 residents are sheltering. "The eye is five hours away and it's already causing damage so it's pretty worrying," he told AAP. Tom Lee took this picture in Rankin Street, Innisfail, below:
8.23pm One person many will be following tonight is Cairns resident Carl Butcher, on Twitter as @cycloneupdate. He is an amateur weather enthusiast who plans to tweet updates through the night from his home. The Australian has spoken to him and you can read the report here.
8.03pm The latest estimate is that Cyclone Yasi will cross the coast at midnight Queensland time (1am AEDT), Sky News reports. It has slowed down somewhat, but a forecaster has told Sky News that cyclones are "notoriously fickle" and it could pick up its pace again. Destructive winds are expected from now. An hour ago, Yasi was estimated to be 150km east-northeast of Innisfail and 175km east of Cairns and moving west-southwest at 29km/h. Latest weather bureau update.
8.01pm "We are as prepared as we can be," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says. "Until we see this storm come across, we won't know until the early hours of the morning just how bad it has been. That unknown is causing as much anxiety as the storm itself."
7.47pm As Yasi trends on Twitter, celebrity tweets are offering their support. English comedian Stephen Fry tweeted: "All our thoughts with Queensland as they brace themselves for Cyclone Yasi. Good luck QL x." Aussie supermodel Miranda Kerr wrote: "Hi guys, our hearts go out to everyone in Australia as they prepare for Cyclone Yasi to hit the Qld coast. Our prayers are with you. Lv Rand."
7.43pm This Ustream webcam showing the scene in Innisfail has been getting progressively darker as the winds have risen. A couple of thousand people are watching it.
7.34pm The weather bureau's latest tracking map shows Cyclone Yasi crossing near Innisfail.
7.28pm Organisers fear Friday night's Indigenous All-Stars v Richmond exhibition AFL game in Alice Springs could be a washout, with heavy rains expected to affect the area as Cyclone Yasi moves west.
7.21pm Some historical context from one of the Bureau's forecasters, Alan Sharp, speaking to Reuters. If Yasi maintains its current intensity when it crosses the coast, it will be the strongest cyclone to hit Queensland since 1899.
7.16pm The Bureau of Meteorology's latest update says damaging winds of 90km/h are currently affecting the coast.
7.11pm Ergon Energy says 11,000 of its customers have lost power, from Atherton to Sarina, as a result of Cyclone Yasi.
7.04pm Elders at the Aboriginal community Yarrabah, south of Cairns, have been comparing Cyclone Yasi to the huge cyclone that struck the region during 1918 which included a storm surge. "We've been told stories about that, how many people got killed, about 12 luggers washed inland," Yarrabah's mayor Percy Neal says.
6.45pm The damage to Cairns and subsequent flooding may not be as bad as initially feared. Wind gusts of up to 125km/h are already being felt, but Yasi is now expected to cross between Innisfail and Cardwell, further south than originally thought, making authorities in Cairns reassess the impact slightly.
6.42pm It sounds almost like a shopaholic's dream-come-true, but for the 2500 people crammed into Cairns' Stockland shopping centre at Earlville, being stuck in a mall overnight is scary stuff as they face food shortages and a power black out. Two fast-food restaurants in the food court are open and lines are stretching more than 40 people deep.
6.39pm A photo taken by Adam Head in Townsville today that captures what much of the country is thinking tonight.
6.27pm Google has updated its Yasi disaster map with cloud and wind data. You can also see Google's crisis response page, containing relevant Google Earth files, news, real-time updates and other resources.
6.05pm Cyclone Yasi has slowed slightly as it bears down on the north Queensland coast, with the weather bureau now predicting it will now hit land about 11pm local time, or midnight AEDT. At 4pm the bureau estimated the cyclone to be 250km off Cairns and 275km north northeast of Townsville. Yasi was still moving west southwest towards the coast at 35 km/h.
5.56pm At Sunland Caravan Park in 4km west of the Cairns CBD, George Piggott says there is hardly a breath of wind and only light rain. About 70 people are staying at the park overnight and all caravans are tied down. "To be honest, we've got no wind, a little bit of rain but no wind," he said.5.53pm This report from news.com.au's Political Editor, Malcolm Farr:
5.44pm More than 50 Energex field staff have volunteered to fly into areas damaged by Cyclone Yasi to restore power supplies.
5.39pm Opposition leader Tony Abbott has echoed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's concerns for the people of North Queensland: "On behalf of the Coalition I extend my best wishes to everyone bracing themselves against what looks to be one of the biggest storm systems ever to hit our country. The Coalition stands ready to support the Government in the disaster relief effort."
5.07pm The former mayor of Queensland's Palm Island, which lies off Queensland's coast, north of Townsville, says there had been no warnings to evacuate issued to the island, despite it being right in the path of the category five cyclone. Rob Blackley told the Seven Network: "It's just a continuation of the 'out of sight out of mind' mentality ... that exists with Aboriginal communities."
4.58pm No pets at Cairns evacuation centres.
4.35pm North Queensland is getting set for the night from hell. The effects of Yasi are now being felt from Cairns to Townsville, where streets are deserted and the winds are rising. The message from authorities to people in affected areas is now to stay put.
It is the largest cyclone to cross the Queensland coast since 1918. The state's premier, Anna Bligh, acknowledged that North Queenslanders faced a terrifying ordeal in the hours ahead.
"I know this is an incredibly frightening time," she said.
Yasi has veered very slightly south and is now tracking to cross the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell. It is expected to be a full-strength Category 5 storm when it comes ashore. It is still expected to be at cyclone strength when it reaches Mount Isa.
3.58pm Prime Minister Julia Gillard say 4000 soldiers based in Townsville plus defence ships and aircraft are available to help once the cyclone passed. She said the defence force had already played a significant role in evacuating hospital patients and assisting in the preparation.
3.55pm A live stream starts at 4pm (AEDT) above with Gavin King from The Cairns Post.
3.43pm news.com.au Facebook fan Sami Storey reports: "I'm in Bowen (550km south of Cairns), and we are getting absolutely hammered by wind n rain!! I think it's almost as bad as when TC Anthony hit!"
3.40pm The Prime Minister has warned there is a dreadful and frightening night ahead.
3.34pm This just in elsewhere on news.com.au:
There are more maps in the story here.
3.28pm The force of Cyclone Yasi's winds are already being felt, with a number of large trees in Ayr, south of Townsville, being knocked over by gale-force gusts. And at Airlie Beach, 600km south of Cairns, 3000 homes have lost power. Outages are also affecting the Atherton Tableland, inland from Cairns. Premier Anna Bligh warns this could be just the beginning, with 200,000 homes likely to lose power.
3.19pm Reader Marcello Avolio has sent us this link to his website which has three webcams - currently showing gathering stormclouds - and other live storm info.
3.15pm Some extracts from the latest warning from the Bureau of Meteorology:
2.53pm Parents in cyclone-affected areas are being urged to explain to their children what the storm is expected to do over the next 24 hours, the AMA says. Children should be warned to expect the loud noise of cyclonic winds. Their favourite music - listened to via headphones - as well as board games, puzzles and crosswords could help to provide a comforting and familiar distraction.
ADFA President Barry Robson said "heartbroken families sifting through the remains of their houses searching for valuables may unwittingly expose themselves to asbestos contamination."
"Asbestos is found in many Australian houses built before 1984, as well as in outbuildings and sheds on farms.
2.07pm Queensland's Hamilton Island is welcoming guests back, in an early sign the state's tourism industry is beginning the recovery process after Cyclone Yasi.
Residents, holiday-makers and staff were evacuated on Tuesday as a precautionary measure as the cyclone approached.
Ferry services to the island resumed yesterday, all regularly scheduled flights returned today and all tour operators and other outlets on the island have reopened.
Any guests affected by the evacuation can rebook with the island without incurring any penalties.
1.56pm Cairns.com.au is running a live blog now.
1.45pm The Courier Mail has an impressive multimedia package showing how a low pressure system became one of the biggest storms in Queensland's living memory. You can have a look at it here.
Premier Anna Bligh has been in the region touring the devastation left by Cyclone Yasi, but is heading back to Brisbane for high level talks about resupplying the north.
"We have major cuts to the Bruce Highway, so we're working with retailers to get supplies, particularly north of Townsville," she told reporters in Cairns.
1.32pm Compare a drive down Tully's main street in 2007 with today after Tropical Cyclone Yasi, in this video.
1.23pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says there's been enough devastation in Queensland for federal MPs to put politics aside and support the flood levy.
Ms Bligh said federal MPs would be heartless to sit at home and watch the disasters unfold and not want to help.
"This is a catastrophic event and it requires all of us to rise to the occasion and that requires us to put politics aside," Ms Bligh told reporters in Cairns.
"I hope there is support next week in Canberra right across the board for people in Queensland who have lost their loved ones, who've lost their homes, their crops, their business."
1.18pm Most telephone services affected by Cyclone Yasi have been restored.
Telstra says some communications services in far north Queensland were affected this morning because important infrastructure was damaged by Yasi but most services are now back on line.
The telco, which earlier reported problems with the 000 service, says emergency calls have not been affected.
1.15pm The Cairns Post has given a wrap of how particular suburbs have been affected. You can find it here.
1.06pm The flood levy will not be used to pay for the cyclone recovery but victims will be exempt from the one-off tax, says Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Instead money will be raised through budget cuts, Ms Gillard has warned from Townsville.
"But we will do that to make sure we have the resources available to rebuild in north and far north Queensland.
"We will rebuild from the flood as we have to rebuild here too. We will do both."
The criteria for exemption will be the same as that for flood victims, who will be excused from the levy if they had to seek government assistance due to the disaster.
"People who ... have been assisted by government because they have been directly hit will not need to pay the flood levy, in the same way that people hit by flooding don't have to pay," Ms Gillard said.
12.49pm Two centres are open in Tully for residents left homeless by the monster storm.
Red Cross staff have been brought in from Brisbane to help man the centres amid estimates about a third of the town's homes were damaged or destroyed.
The Cassowary Coast Regional Council has appealed for people to bring food and bedding if they have it but says food, gas bottles for cooking and some bedding will be provided.
The centres are located at the Tully Red Cross Headquarters in Bryant Street and the Tully Mill Recreation Hall, on Writ Lane.
12.40pm State disaster co-ordinator Ian Stewart says there have been 11 cases of possible looting since the cyclone including an opportunistic break and enter at a Cairns pharmacy on Wednesday night.
Mr Stewartsays it's a disgrace that people would consider such action at a time when the trauma being suffered by the community is so great.
He says not all of the offenders have yet been charged.
12.33pm Reports say there are still two people missing after Cyclone Yasi. Queensland's disaster coordinator Ian Stewart has confirmed two people remain missing following Cyclone Yasi, both males in the Cardwell area.
Mr Stewart says police are working to find the men - one of whom was reported missing by his sister in Brisbane - and the other by an overseas friend on Tuesday after speaking by phone from his yacht at Port Hinchinbrook.
Another man that had been reported missing was found yesterday.
12.13pm All troops based in Townsville will help clean up cyclone-hit north Queensland in the biggest deployment since Cyclone Tracy, Prime Minister Julia Gillard annouced today.
"We have a large standing presence here in Townsville and in this region and so there's 4000 soldiers being able to assist during the cyclone recovery," Ms Gillard said.
Defence said they were relying on troops based locally at the moment but if they needed more, could call extra troops to the region.
12.11pm A ship carrying 2750 tonnes of essential supplies will steam into Townsville today to resupply north Queensland.
"That's the equivalent of 110 trucks of food and equipment and supplies," Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said.
He said access was now available to Tully, and alternative road routes were being considered to resupply communities north of Townsville cut off by the cyclone.
11.56am The federal government's flood levy has nothing to do with Queensland's lack of insurance, Premier Anna Bligh says. Ms Bligh said she wanted to clear up the confusion after reports yesterday that Queensland was the only major state in Australia without a comprehensive catastrophe insurance policy.
The premier said that under natural disaster relief arrangements in Australia, the Commonwealth paid 75 per cent of the costs of natural disasters that occurred in any state, while the state paid the remaining 25 per cent.
"We've made a judgement that because of the number of natural disasters we have and the nature of them, it's actually more cost effective for us to deal with our money when it happens (and not pay for insurance)," she told the Seven Network.
"That's nothing to do with the levy, that's the state money and we will pay our share.
11:31am Telstra customers hit by Cyclone Yasi in areas north of Ingham may not be able to dial Triple zero or make other calls. Telstra says some communications services north of Ingham have been affected due to the loss of mains power and backup generators and this could affect 13, 1800, STD, IDD, mobile and 000 services.
11:29am Anna Bligh says cyclone recovery stations will be set up in centres like Tully as early as today. Ms Bligh is in the far-north city of Cairns today which she says will be an important staging post for the recovery. She says with the Bruce Highway cut by flooding opening an inland route for trucks between Townsville and Cairns is today's priority in order to get food supplies to the north.
11:25am North Queensland senator forced to nail up his windows to withstand Cyclone Yasi says he's still not convinced of the need for the disaster levy. Liberal senator Ian Macdonald has offices in Ayr and Townsville, and lives in Ayr, which felt winds of around 135km/h and received about 140mm of rain in 24 hours.
He said "I don't think the flood levy is justified under any circumstance," he said. "Most of us will be insured and for many of us we have been through it before."
11:15am Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott maintains the government should cut the fat in its budget instead of imposing a levy to pay for reconstruction work in flood ravaged areas.
Mr Abbott wouldn't specify which government programs should be cut to raise the funds but said it was important to let Australians know the Liberal Party is on their side.
10.48am Residents in the worst hit areas of Queensland are about to see "an army of people" coming to help says Premier Anna Bligh. "...whether it's police, electricity workers, Red Cross workers or armed services people," she said.
"They are coming and they are on their way and you will start to see them in your streets gradually over the next couple of days."
The army has a convoy based on the Cardwell Range and should soon be able to get into Tully to supply water, food and begin the clean-up job, she said.
10:39am There will be no change to emergency payment rules. Treasurer Wayne Swan says anyone who lost power for 48 hours as a result of Cyclone Yasi will be eligible for federal emergency assistance payments.
He says payments for people in the cyclone zone are being made under the same criteria applied to flood victims in Queensland's southeast and central regions.
Under the rules anyone whose home was destroyed or damaged or were without power for at least 48 hours can claim emergency payments of one-thousand dollars per adult and 400 dollars per child.
10.37am In the first cyclone-related death, a 23-year-old man has suffocated from using a generator inside a closed room after Cyclone Yasi cut power supplies, Premier Anna Bligh said.
She warned other north Queenslanders not to put themselves at risk.
Ms Bligh said the incident happened near Ingham.
"Our condolences for the family of this young man," Ms Bligh told reporters in Cairns.
10.36am Federal MP Bob Katter has praised Prime Minister Julia Gillard's handling of Cyclone Yasi, saying both she and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh have come through with "shining colours".
10.32am Centrelink will be back in action in Townsville on Saturday to help cyclone-affected residents.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard also said those who need it can apply for the disaster relief cash payments by calling the hotline 180 22 66, or contacting Centrelink.
Centrelink in Townsville was closed by blackouts, although Cairns was unaffected.
"We'll be looking to get mobile services into the really hard hit, devastated communities like Cardwell and Tully," Ms Gillard said.
10.12am Ms Bligh said no briefing could have prepared her for the devastation at Cardwell and Tully.
"This is a major recovery effort and like Cyclone Larry and Innisfail, it's going to take a long time," she said.She said police had been door knocking in Cardwell last night to check whether any residents needed rescuing but nobody had been found in such circumstances so far.
The main problem in Cardwell and Tully now was providing temporary accommodation for those who had lost their homes.
10.10am Bad weather is hampering the recovery effort in the towns of Cardwell and Tully.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the small, hard-hit towns are surrounded by people trying to help, with electricians and army personnel waiting to get in.Ms Bligh says heavy rain on Thursday hampered some of the relief effort but residents of the small towns have not been forgotten.
She told the Seven Network "everybody is poised and ready and hopefully the weather will give us just enough of a break today to get those resources on the ground."
9.49am 150-thousand customers remain without power across north Queensland today and could do so for weeks.
In Cairns 37,000 customers are still without power.
Ergon's regional services manager Geoff Bowes says every effort is being made to restore services in the city but safety comes first.
9.36am Water police will join the search for a man missing from Port Hinchinbrook after trying to move his boat before Cyclone Yasi hit the north Queensland coast.
The man is described as being aged 30 to 40, with a tanned complexion and of a solid build. He's believed to be on a yacht named Panku.
9.24am Ex-Tropical Cyclone Yasi is fizzling out as it journeys inland from the north Queensland coast but rain is still dumping down over the region.
By 5am (AEST) Yasi was about 75 kilometres west-southwest of Mount Isa and is forecast to be west of the Queensland border by this afternoon.The weather bureau has warned wind gusts of around 90 kilometres an hour are possible in the northwest region and localised flash flooding and river rises in the Gulf country today.
The bureau says torrential rain is still falling in the area where it crossed the coast, prompting a severe weather warning for flash flooding along the Queensland coast from Mossman to Ayr including the cities of Cairns and Townsville.
9.17am Queensland's cyclone is even affecting Victoria, with the north and northeast of the state expected to be hit with heavy rainfall in the next few days, remnants of Yasi.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is predicting thunderstorms, flash flooding and rainfall in excess of 100mm in the northeast.
Emergency services are warning people in these areas to monitor the situation.
9.10am Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has sent sent a message of support from overseas to cyclone victims in his home state of Queensland.
"We're just relieved that there has not been, based on what we know, a huge loss of life," he said from Munich, Germany, where he's attending a global security conference."Therese and I, as Queenslanders, feel for everybody."
Mr Rudd said people in Europe were asking how the state could possibly "cop it again like this".
8.53am An aerial search for a man missing in Port Hinchinbrook has commenced.
8.49am A message sprayed on debris shows the spirit of a home-owner after the building was destroyed in Tully.
The airport's runway was reopened yesterday for military and defence aircraft helping with the recovery.
That will be expanded to passenger services today, but airport authorities said flights may still be limited.
8.18am In some good news for Townsville residents, authorities say the city's water treatment plant is back up and running, amid fears the city would run out of supplies.
However, residents are still being warned to limit what they use.
8.10am Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Anna Bligh will tour affected communities in North Queensland today.
Anna Bligh said the absence of any deaths at this point was encouraging, but she also warned that as devastated communities are cleaned up and searched, there could be "some sad news in the next couple of days".
"But what we know is we didn't see a mass loss of life in evacuation centres so that's a great relief," she said.
Ms Gillard flew into Townsville last night and says she hopes to offer some words of comfort and talk about rebuilding to those affected when she tours the region today.
7.43am Also on The Punch, political editor Malcolm Farr says that it's not the disasters themselves that are backing up arguments about climate-change, but the freakish scale of them. The public, and pollies, may be more receptive to the Gillard government introducing a carbon-tax within the next year.
7.38am David Penberthy writes in The Punch today Anna Bligh's straight-talking, hands-on response to Queensland's shocker of a season has impressed many and sets a new standard for politicians.
7.31am Police will launch an aerial search today for a man missing from Cardwell.A police spokeswoman said a family member in Canada had contacted police worried about their loved one, who had called them from a yacht out on the bay.
The man told his family he was attempting to move his yacht into the mangroves for safety, but has not been heard from since.
7.28am Queensland Police released this warning earlier this morning: SEVERE WEATHER WARNING for Damaging Winds and Flash Flooding.
For people in the Gulf Country, Northwest, western parts of the Central West, far western parts of the Northern Goldfields and northern parts of the Channel Country districts.
At 5am, Ex-Tropical Cyclone Yasi was located about 75 km west southwest of Mount Isa and was moving in a west southwest direction at about 23 kilometres per hour.
7.22am One third of all homes in Cardwell were wrecked or damaged by the cyclone. Boats were thrown two streets back by the storm surge. Around70 that were moored in the marina were piled up at the end of Port Hinchinbrook.
7.02am The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for moderate to major flooding occurring along the Herbert River between Gleneagle and Halifax, with the flood peak currently in the Halifax area.
River levels at Ingham and Gairloch will fall slowly this morning. Any renewed rises are not expected to return to the levels of yesterday.
6.30am Queensland's government ministers plan to travel to north Queensland at the weekend to discuss the impact of Cyclone Yasi on the region.
Premier Anna Bligh says the government will push ahead with the already scheduled community cabinet meetings at Proserpine and Airlie Beach from Sunday and the meetings will also tackle broader issues than just those facing Proserpine and Airlie Beach.
5.30am The Australian has an excellent explaination of how Cairns dodged the bullet:
Until as late as Thursday night, meteorologists were not sure whether Yasi would wipe out a large town. In the 24 hours before landfall, Yasi had been tracking straight for Cairns, before twisting south towards Innisfail.
Then, for three hours before it devastated even smaller communities along the Cassowary Coast, it started to slow - just in time to avoid coinciding with a king tide that would have produced killer storm surges.
Yasi's eventual landfall, in the tiny communities midway between Cairns and Townsville, made all the difference between property destruction and death.
Read the full explanation at The Australian.
4.18am The Courier-Mail reports one of two men reported missing in the Innisfail area has been located and police are optimistic another man, last seen moving his boat in Port Hinchinbrook, will be found.
"He said he was moving his vessel into the mangroves to be safe from the storm surge. We haven't heard from him," a police spokesman said. "We can't get into that area by foot. We're trying to get a police water search as soon as we can, as well as do an aerial survey of the area."
3.22am Daryl Webber has told how he celebrated his 42nd birthday on Wednesday night waiting for Cyclone Yasi to smash down on his home at Silky Oak, 5km south of Tully. Little of the home he shared with his mates Andrew Schirner and Mick Pearson was left yesterday. But they managed to celebrate the passing of the cyclone with a beer and a laugh.
"I was yelling out, 'Stay down and duck for cover'. When the cyclone hit we just hoped for the best, because if the house went, we knew we would be gone, too."
Jetstar services to to Cairns, Hamilton Island, Proserpine and Townsville should also resume today providing there are no adverse weather warnings.
Townsville Airport was re-opened yesterday for military and defence aircraft, and passenger services are expected to resume today.
2.11am The Daily Telegraph reports that in a sweep by helicopter from Cairns to Ingham it has counted at least 100 totally unsalvageable homes and countless more damaged properties.
12.34am New South Wales will send more than 100 State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers and staff to Queensland to bolster the response to Tropical Cyclone Yasi, departing for Cairns on Saturday morning.
11.40pm The cyclone warning for the tropical interior from west of Richmond to the Northern Territory border, including Mt Isa and Winton has been cancelled. The Bureau of Meteorology says Yasi has weakened into a tropical depression.
Damaging winds, with gusts above 90 km/h, are still possible through parts of the western tropical interior and southwest of Queensland, while severe thunderstorms could produce flash flooding.
11.02pm Julia Gillard arrived in Townsville tonight and will inspect damage in the city tomorrow morning before visiting other affected areas of north Queensland. "I would prefer that my visit to Queensland was for other purposes but we're here because nature's been continuing to throw challenges to Queensland," she said.
9.04pm Police will launch a sea and air search tomorrow for a man missing since moving his boat before Cyclone Yasi struck. The missing person report was lodged from Canada. A police spokesman said:
He said he was moving his vessel into the mangroves to be safe from the storm surge. Since that time we haven't heard from him. We're trying to get a police water search as soon as we can, as well as do an aerial survey of the area.8.00pm Residents of Mt Isa - 800km the coast - are preparing for something they see as beyond their comprehension: a cyclone. The latest weather bureau report has the cyclone reaching Mt Isa at 1am Queensland time (2am AEDT) as a category one event, which could bring damaging winds of up to 120km/h.
7.24pm People in remote parts of central Australia have been warned to prepare for possible isolation. They are urging anyone who doesn't want to become isolated in the community, or those who are frail or ill, to stay with friends and relatives in a regional centre such as Tennant Creek or Alice Springs
6.56pm Visiting Cardwell today, Premier Anna Bligh described the situation as devastating.
It's a lovely seaside village and right now it looks like a war zone ... Parts of this town are not recognisable right now, but we can fix it.
6.34pm Virgin Blue will resume normal flight schedule tomorrow at Cairns Airport.6.27pm A flash flood warning has been issued for people near the coast from Mossman to Ayr, including Cairns and Townsville. Heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding is occurring near the coast between Mossman and Ayr and is expected to continue this evening and overnight.
5.34pm In Townsville today, Premier Anna Bligh say she's surprised category five cyclone didn't cause more damage but also warned that it is too early to know the true extent of the devastation.
It's been totally remarkable to me as I drive through and see the size of trees that were brought down in this event that we don't have massive structural damage here in Townsville.5.12pm Farmers are unlikely to be covered for crop losses in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi, the insurance industry says, as early predictions suggest more than 90 per cent of Australia's banana plantations were destroyed overnight.
4.54pm A church in Cardwell lacks walls and a roof. Its pews lie on the floor and a hymn book sits open at a page with the words: "We all thank our God with hearts and voices Who wondrous things hath done."
4.26pm Cyclone Yasi has been downgraded to a category one. Residents near the Northern Territory border and at Mt Isa remain on notice for damaging wind gusts and heavy rain.
4.21pm Mining giant Xstrata is evacuating personnel from its operations at Mount Isa and Cloncurry in the face of Cyclone Yasi. Only a handful of essential personnel will remain on site for critical site monitoring activities after 4pm Queensland time (5pm AEDT).
4.03pm The 600 people of Julia Creek, 700km from the coast, are waiting for their ever cyclone. Mckinlay Shire Council mayor Paul Woodhouse said:
It's getting continually darker, with heavier rain squalls, we're expecting the eye of it to get closer over the next few hours ... It's pretty much wait and see, sit down and have a beer I guess and ponder the curiosities of life as we face up to our first category one cyclone.3.52pm Alice Springs residents have been warned to prepare for flooding as Cyclone Yasi makes its way across Queensland toward the Northern Territory border.
3.46pm In Tully, traffic lights have been bent in half. The main street is littered with debris, roofing iron, glass, wood and other building material. Roofs, torn off several business, have either landed in the street or been wrapped around poles. But the iconic Golden Gumboot, a symbol of Tully's claim to fame as one of the wettest places in Australia, is still intact.
3.33pm In Hughenden, 35 of the town's 1500 residents are waiting in an evacuation centre, for predicted heavy rain as the eye of Cyclone Yasi moves to the north of the town.
3.28pm Thousands of north Queenslanders have lost phone connections, with 25 Telstra mobile phone stations out, and 10,000 landlines not operating. Meanwhile, 177,000 homes were without power this afternoon. Only 15 per cent of Townsville had electricity supply, the whole of Ingham was out, 34 per cent of Cairns had power, and half of the homes in Mackay and Proserpine were out.
3.24pm Seven patients needed to be evacuated from Tully Hospital after the township south of Cairns lost power.
3.18pm One reader who works for an insurance company has sent this plea:
"People with non-urgent claims (should) wait and stop clogging up our phone lines and allow flood and cyclone claims to be lodged," he said.
"Queues are ridiculous in call centres and people with urgent total loss claims are waiting whilst non-urgent claims... are coming through."
3.03pm A woman has been filmed risking her life during the tidal surge at Airlie Beach, standing on the water's edge as it is pounded by huge waves.
Watch the video here
She was engulfed by several waves while apparently hamming it up for onlookers, her back to the ocean. At one point she can be seen letting go of a coastal fence as one wave engulfs her, water rising over a metre above her head.
Shortly afterwards a man can be heard off-camera shouting "Get out of there, you goose!" before the woman wanders calmly away from the dangerous tide.
2.46pm Frank Costantino got an unsettling hint of what was coming when the birds disappeared from the rainforest around their house. He and his partner are trapped in their home by debris after the cyclone passed directly over them in Feluga, west of Mission Beach.
“When I first moved up to the area I was told by an old-timer a good indication if the cyclone’s going to keep you away is to look at the birds,” he told news.com.au.
“On Monday morning it was dead quiet. I had an idea then that we were gonna be in a bit of strife.”
Read more about his ordeal here.
2.22pm More than 1500 calls were made to the State Emergency Service last night, but that is expected to grow as people return to their damaged homes. The Department of Communities would identify people who needed longer-term housing.
Red Cross teams were moving into Tully and Innisfail to establish more permanent evacuation centres for people who were made homeless by the cyclone.
An additional 500 SES personnel would be in the region by next Wednesday, including 100 from NSW.
Cairns Base Hospital's emergency department reopened at 11am (AEST) today and the temporary facility at Fretwell Park would close on Thursday afternoon.
A decision on when to reopen schools would be made this afternoon.
2.06pm Preliminary reports from aerial crews have found hundreds of homes and boats have structural damage in the hardest-hit area where Cyclone Yasi made landfall, Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts says.
At Cardwell about 60 properties have major structural damage, 100 have "medium level damage" and 50 have minor damage, he said.
At Mission Beach about 22 properties have major structural damage.
At Tully Heads, 21 properties have major damage, 19 have medium damage and 12 have minor damage.
And in the Hinchinbrook area, 70 boats in a harbour have major damage to them.
Mr Roberts said authorities still had not been able to enter the communities of Silkwood, Halifax, Lucinda and Taylors Beach.
He said a second storm surge of half a metre above the highest tide level that had affected Cairns and Townsville had passed. However, there were still concerns about flash flooding from heavy rain in areas such as Ingham and Giru.
1.51pm Police have advised Mt Isa residents to "act now" and not be complacent before Yasi hits the town as a Category 1 cyclone tonight.
"Locals should listen to warnings, develop safety plans, secure houses and valuables and look to the safety of neighbours," said Superintendent Ray Pringle. He said people might have to stay in secured places for up to a day, and should plan to be without public utilities for three days.
Emergency Management Queensland assistant director general Bruce Grady said it was not just destructive winds which were likely to result from this system, but also the possibility of heavy rain and flooding.
"At this stage the cyclone is expected to impact areas including Richmond, Julia Creek and Mount Isa later today. The next eight hours should not be wasted," Mr Grady said.
1.42pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has called on Australians to dig deep again for the Disaster Relief Fund, which is now extended to Cyclone Yasi victims.
The fund stood at $192,470,566 today.
"I know they have been digging deep but my message once again is that we need you to keep digging," Ms Bligh said in a statement.
"If you've already donated I'm asking you to think about giving again.
1.33pm Cardwell looks like it's been hit by a tsunami, the Courier-Mail reports. The coastal community about 50km south of Tully is completely devastated and looks more like a junkyard.
The marina is destroyed, million-dollar boats have been ripped apart, homes have had roofs torn off, buildings are just shells, power lines are down everywhere and the town is barely recognisable.
1.08pm Here come the price rises. Remember when Cyclone Larry wiped out 90 per cent of our banana supply? The same applies to Yasi, with early estimates of $13 a kilo predicted right through 2011.
"It did then, and I can't see any reason why it wouldn't now," National Farmers Federation president Jock Laurie said referring to the 2006 disaster.
Watch the video A flood watch has been issued for people in the Northeast Pastoral, Northwest Pastoral and Flinders districts north of Tarcoola to Woomera and to Broken Hill, where the remnants of Yasi are likely to strike over the weekend.
Current forecasts estimate rainfall between five millimetres and 50mm, with possible heavy falls of up to 100mm.
12.14pm The small community of Mt Surprise, 250km southwest of Cairns, has survived Cyclone Yasi at a category three intensity without major loss, according to local Trish Wallace.
"It calmed down for about three-quarters of an hour or so, then it started blowing again, but not as strong as it was before we went through the eye.
"It was pretty scary through the night. We could hear the wind screaming under the roof," Ms Wallace said.
Dawn showed unexpectedly little damage.
An Atherton fireman, who did not wish to be named, said the tableland town west of Cairns seems largely unscathed.
Unlike fields of bananas down on the coast, corn crops just outside the town were still standing.
12.10pm News.com.au reader David Lord sent us these pictures from near his home in Mission Beach. Trees have been stripped bare, and houses severely damaged.
“We had to hang on to the door. Everything was just moving around and bang!11.26am Reports are coming in that all banana crops have been lost and over $505 million worth of sugar cane is also gone. More pictures can be found in this gallery, continually updating.
“The main roof from upstairs went and blew off.
“We didn’t hear the roof go, the wind was so noisy that we couldn’t hear anything.”
11.19am This description of being in the eye of cyclone Yasi comes from Mission Beach local Ken Byce.
"It was very quiet, eerie, we could see the stars, it was clear, just amazing."11.05am Ms Bligh said there had been extremely heavy rain in a very short time as far south as Mackay.
After experiencing hours of winds above 250km/h, the night suddenly turned quiet and serene at around midnight, Mr Byce said.
"Then it came back from the north. It had been blowing from the east and the south all through the first part, then she turned around and came from the north, that's what wiped out and flattened a few of the weaker houses."
She said major flooding was now a huge concern and waterlogged Queensland can expect more evacuations.
"We are now seeing strong flooding activity in the Tully River through to Giru," she said.
10.52am Areas around Mount Isa should expect category one conditions around 8pm tonight. Authorities urge residents to heed all warnings as it will be unlike any storm they've experienced in the past.
10.49am Anna Bligh spoke of victims who are suffering through their second bout of cyclone devastation after Larry. "They've lost their homes, they've lost their farms, they've lost their crops, they've lost their livelihood."
"Can I say to you: You are not alone."
10.45am Premier Anna Bligh described the situation as "still very dangerous" in a press conference., as Twitter user Josh Bavas describes.
"Townsville's Strand looks like something out of a disaster scene. Waves rolling up into the streets. Ocean roaring."10.40am Emergency crews had to cut their way into Cardwell. Initial reports say the town is devastated. Premier Bligh said Palm Island, "despite being out there in the middle of it all, has come through reasonably well," with no significant damage.
Mission Beach has seen some damage "but perhaps not as much as earlier reports," said Ms Bligh.
10.37am Ms Bligh reports that one in three houses in Tully have had their roofs ripped or have been completely destroyed.
10.33am There was no structural damage to any of the evacuation centres where over 10,000 people spent a stressful night.
A second storm surge with the current high tide is creating significant water rises and flooding in areas. She said evacuation centres will remain in lockdown until the tide recedes.
10.31am Premier Anna Bligh described the situation as "still very dangerous" in a press conference. The hardest hit areas are in and around Innisfail: Tully, Silkwood, Mission Beach and Cardwell.
10.28am Queensland Police have warned people to stay away from the coast, particularly the Esplanade area of Cairns, as the second storm surge creates significant flooding.
10.20am The Bureau of Meteorology have released flood warnings for coastal rivers and streams between Cairns and Townsville and adjacent inland catchments, and between Townsville and Sarina and adjacent inland catchments.
There are also flood warnings for several rivers in the area.
9.50am Daylight has revealed a devastated landscape at Innisfail, which was devastated by Cyclone Larry in 2006.
"It's just like the place has been sprayed with napalm," said Cassowary councillor Bill Horsford.
"There's hardly a green leaf around, all of the beautiful mountains are now brown."
9.34am LIVE FROM 9.50 AEDT - Live streaming video from Cairns with the latest updates from the scene. Click the video above to watch.
9.25am Castaway Resort, an oceanfront hotel on Mission Beach, has copped a hammering from the cyclone. Paul Toogood has posted photos of the damage on Yfrog.
9.17am Queensland Police are urging people in Cairns and Townsville to be patient and stay indoors as conditions are still unsafe.
Technical experts are performing damage assessments so the all clear can be given for residents to safely return home and travel on roads.
9.11am Palm Island - which was not evacuated - is "a mess" with "some structural damage to residences" according to reports from other users of the Queensland Police Facebook page. Thankfully there have been no reported casualties.
9.01am Callers to ABC radio describe their experiences in the cyclone, saying Larry was "nothing compared to this".
One woman tearfully pleads for people to think of those on farms as she tells of writing her phone number on her horses - which are now lost - in the hope they would be found again. Another resident describes "100 foot coconut trees" planted in 1918 bent in half by the winds.
8.54am As daylight breaks, pictures are coming in of the cyclone damage in Tully. This photograph was taken on Black Street. Pic: John Wilson
Premier Anna Bligh says two came into the world at Innisfail hospital right in the midst of the monster storm along with the little girl born in a Cairns evacuation centre this morning.
She's guessing they'll be some of the most sought-after baby photos globally.
8.39am David Brook, general manager of the Mission Beach Elandra Resort said the area now looked like "Vietnam (in the war movie) Apocalypse Now".
Trees are down, cars have been swept away, roofs have been torn away and the sand on the beach has disappeared, Mr Brook said.
"Nothing's been spared.
"The devastation is phenomenal, like nothing I've ever experienced," he said, noting that he's seen at least five cyclones hit the area over the past 20 years.
8.29am There is "virtually nothing standing" in Tully, says Tully Times reporter Linda Timms about the surrounding rainforest.
From her home at the base of Mount Tyson, Ms Timms said on ABC Radio she had no view of the mountain through the trees before the cyclone, but now it is a clear view.
8.18am The scene at Cyclone Yasi's ground zero is one of devastation, but even police who bunkered down at Mission Beach don't know just how bad it is.
Police say trees had been reduced to sticks, streets were littered with debris, and some buildings had been damaged, but conditions are still too dangerous to allow even a cursory assessment of the damage.
"Around 10pm (AEST) there was this massive roar and we could hear vegetation being shredded to pieces," said officer in charge Sergeant Dan Gallagher.
8.06am The Bureau of Meteorology has downgraded Yasi to a category two cyclone and released an updated tracking map.
They said "Yasi continues to weaken, but it is producing heavy rain and dangerous wind gusts as it moves across the tropical interior.
"Yasi is SE of Georgetown and will be near Mt Isa tonight as a tropical Low."
"We do expect to see Tully experiencing some very very high levels of damage to buildings, to vegetation and potentially to other infrastructure," Anna Bligh told Sky News.
7.36am Ms Bligh said six people, aged in their 60s, who were trapped in a unit at Port Hinchinbrook overnight were safe and well on Thursday morning.
"I'm very pleased to advise they're safe," she said.
"I'm sure they had tough night."
7.31am A baby has girl has been born in a Cairns evacuation centre. She arrived at 6.09am (AEST) after her mother Akiko Pruss went into labour three hours ago in the first aid room of Redlynch State College.
Mrs Pruss has made it clear her second child will not be called Yasi.
Premier Anna Bligh said on Channel 9: "in the midst of all of this devastation, new life in some very touching circumstances."
"I'm sure it will bring a lot of smiles to faces in that centre today after such a difficult and distressing night."
7.24am Ms Bligh said while Cairns had been spared the worst of the monster storm, it was too early to have even basic assessments of the damage in some of the hardest hit communities such as Cardwell, to the south of Mission Beach.
"It's far too early yet to start talking about dodging bullets," she said.
"Potentially there's quite a lot of structural damage to essential services."
7.18am There have been no reports of any deaths or serious injuries as a result of Cyclone Yasi, Premier Anna Bligh, which is "a great relief" she told the Nine Network.
She said Cairns had been spared the worst of the monster storm, with the smaller communities of Mission Beach, Tully, Tully Heads, and Cardwell bearing Yasi's full force.
6.52am Joseph from Lowry, 25km south of Innisfail, told ABC Radio the view from his house is "total devastation," and said his neighbour across the road has lost his roof.
Sonya, from Tully, stayed with relatives, and said they went through a "very frightening night". A neighbour in the apartment above bunkered down with them after the roof above him was ripped off. The roof of the senior citizens' hall nearby is also gone.
Sonya said she is "dreading going around the corner" to see what her own house looks like.
6.43am El-Arish resident Paul Osbourne said the winds were the most extreme he's ever experienced, and described the walls of his brick home vibrating around him.
"It was just full on spray, you couldn't tell in what direction the wind was coming from," he told AAP.
He said trees were going down everywhere and branches were cleanly ripped off by gusts the bureau has put as high as 290km/h.
"It was unbelievable, trees were coming down and hitting the roof, there was this incredible noise," he said.
6.36am Cairns appears to have been spared the worst of Cyclone Yasi's fury, but thousands of residents have spent a scary night in evacuation centres that lost power.
Police who conducted limited patrols during the tempest say damage appears to be minimal. They saw no major structural damage, but a spokesman for Cairns Regional Council Mayor Val Schier said they expect to find more in the morning.
6.28am Dozens of powerlines have been brought down by cyclonic winds. More than 170,000 homes are without power, including 40,000 in Cairns, and 70,000 in Townsville.
6.18am Amid the chaos and devastation of Cyclone Yasi a baby is being born at a Cairns evacuation centre. Akiko Pruss went into labour at the evacuation centre at Redlynch State College at 2.45am (AEST).
"She's been in labour for a few hours," Cairns councillor Linda Cooper told AAP. "She's doing really well...Today's actually her due date."
6.03am Cyclone Yasi has been downgraded to a category three storm, but remains dangerous. The "very destructive" core, with gusts up to 205 km/h, is continuing to move inland west of Cardwell towards the Georgetown area.
"Yasi is moving inland and weakening slowly, but remains a dangerous cyclone," the Bureau of Meteorology said.
5.36am The Daily Telegraph has broken down what the cyclone will mean for some Queensland industries. Up to $500 million worth of sugar cane and banana crops are at risk, doubling the losses already suffered from the recent floods.
It's also another huge blow to tourism after thousands of staff and guests were evacuated from hotels.
4:25am Queensland Police have received widespread reports of widespread damage and destruction but no reported injuries or deaths so far.
4:10am Cyclone Yasi has been downgraded to category 4 and is expected to weaken, according to the latest Bureau of Meteorology report.
4:00am The eye of the storm is passing over Tully as the predicted storm surge into Townsville appears to be staying well below the worst forecast, thanks to a receding tide. Meanwhile the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre said there are unconfirmed reports of rainfall of up to 200 mm in some areas.
3:20am Cyclone Yasi is crossing the north Queensland coast near Mission Beach and is starting to unleash the upper range of its violent 290km/h winds. Mission Beach is now sitting in the eye of the cyclone, with families converging on the streets to inspect the damage. Resident Nicky Smith was bracing for a second round of devastation, after the first wave had done minimal damage to her home.
"It's all gone a bit pear-shaped now.There have been a lot of bangs up there. We don't know what's going on. Water is coming through the windows. It's coming under the door and through the windows. It's not flooding, there's just too much rain."2.45am Residents in Tully have already reported massive devastation with roofs torn from houses and power poles knocked over. Cassowary Coast councillor Ross Sorbello said the roof had been torn from his mother's house, where he was waiting out the storm, and local properties had suffered similar damage.
"It is just a scene of mass devastation. (Cyclone) Larry was a boy compared to this."2.10am Townsville authorities say there is no way of knowing how many homes will be inundated as a result of an expected record storm surge as cyclone Yasi belts the north Queensland coast. A wave height of 9.5 metres had been recorded at the city, almost three metres above the expected level, but authorities will not be able to determine the effects of the storm surge until after the cyclone has passed.
Residents have reported sheets of roof iron have been ripped from a Townsville shopping centre and seeing metal awnings fly down the street. Castle Hill resident Wil Kemp described the conditions as "scary".
"It's dark outside so we can't see a lot but there a whole trees, big ones, which just aren't there anymore.The rain doesn't fall, it just comes in horizontally as the wind goes roaring past."1.40am Boyd "Scotty" Scott, of Scotty's Beach House at Yasi "ground zero" Mission Beach, has told Sky News after the cyclone crossed: "I'm looking at stars above me, that's how calm it is ... At the moment, I don't feel it's been that much different to Larry."
1.06am The weather bureau's latest update states: The large destructive core of Cyclone Yasi is starting to cross the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell, with a dangerous storm tide and battering waves to the south of the cyclone centre.
VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to 290 km/h between Cairns and Ingham and the adjacent ranges will extend inland and gradually weaken.12.56am Recapping the grave warning from state disaster coordinator Ian Stewart at the latest media conference: "This is a very very deadly and destructive cyclone. Unfortunately we are going to see significant destruction of buildings ... and it is very likely that we will see deaths occur."
The VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE of the cyclone will take up to 4 hours to pass.
DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts in excess of 125 km/h between Cape Tribulation and Ayr will spread inland overnight.
12.50am More than 100 employees on Dunk Island, just a few kilometres off the coast of Mission Beach, are bunkered down in a concrete wing of a staff accommodation block waiting for Cyclone Yasi to pass. They had lost mobile phone communication but the resort was equipped with satellite phones and generators.
12.43am Cassowary Coast councillor Ross Sorbello said his house was shaking under the force of winds of up to 290km/h. "We're already at a stage where it's worse than it was during Larry. I don't remember the house shaking like that last time," he told AAP. "The wind and rain outside are howling, it's a horrible sound."
12.34am The major evacuation centre in Cairns has lost power. The power went out about just over an hour ago, throwing blackness over the 2500 evacuees holed up in the Stockland Shopping Centre in Earlville (pictured below) after early morning evacuations.
12.04am The weather bureau's latest update says Cyclone Yasi is expected to cross the coast near Mission Beach, south of Innisfail, close to midnight (Queensland time).
11.41pm Premier Anna Bligh says people in affected areas may need to be self sufficient for a couple of days. She said she wouldn't "sugar coat" the difficulties ahead for far north Queenslanders. "We will do everything in our power to minimise that time but that's not in our control, it will depend on conditions, if we can get helicopters up and how badly damaged roads are." Her warning comes as 89,000 homes have had power cut. At her last media update for the evening she said: "We are waiting anxiously with you ... we hope that you can feel our thoughts. We hope to see you safe and well tomorrow morning."
11.39pm More on the call to police for evacuation assistance: Six people in their 60s at Port Hinchinbrook in a storm surge area made the call, and have been given telephone support.
11.34pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says reports of an 18m wave at Townsville are false. Waves breaking over a buoy have turned it upside down, causing it to give inaccurate measurements.
11.04pm The latest projection from the weather bureau shows how Yasi is expected to remain a Category 1 cyclone as far inland as Mt Isa.
10.39pm Across North Queensland, more than 61,000 homes are without power.
10.30pm Reader Andrew Walker from London said he was concerned for his British sister in Cairns.
My sister has been traveling in Australia for about a year now, and she is living in Cairns, like a lot of others she has decided to stay. There is nothing we can do apart from watch this site for updates of what is happening, and hope that she is ok. My thoughts are with her and the rest of Queensland. Stay safe everyone.10.16pm There's been record wave height - 9.5m - this afternoon off Townsville. "This is the highest that has ever been recorded since measurements began in 1975," Premier Anna Bligh said. Similarly in Cardwell we are planing for a storm surge of over 7m over the high tide mark, Lucinda Beach 4m and at Cairns 2.6m.''
10.04pm Emergency services say they will not risk the lives of their personnel during the height of the cyclone. They warn that people should now be bunkered down in homes or among the thousands who have moved into one of 20 evacuation centres across the region.
9.52pm An email from reader Chris Beston: "I live in Cairns and I am an ex Adelaide person, its starting to get really windy now and the lights are starting to flicker on and off, just wish it would hurry up and hit so we can deal with it...".
Our thoughts are with you and others in North Queensland tonight, Chris.
9.39pm Powerlines are under threat and Anna Bligh has warned of "a catastrophic failure of essential services". An inland "spine" of transmission towers which has never been through a Category 5 cyclone will be tested; Bligh says if it fails there could be a total failure of power to parts of North Queensland.
There is also a warning of a second storm surge tomorrow morning about 9.30am local time when the tide rises again. Winds will still be strong and authorities are warning that lives could be put at risk if people venture out in the early morning to inspect damage when the tide is due to surge.
It was a sombre press conference - authorities are asking people to brace for scenes of total devastation tomorrow morning after the storm passes.
9.34pm Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is holding a media conference. She's warned that although the eye of the cyclone isn't expected to cross the coast until midnight (Queensland time), its destructive core will cross the coast much earlier - starting now - and continue for about four or five hours.
9.26pm The power is out on Magnetic Island, off Townsville. Resident Gisela Edwards said: "It is very squally, but the wind is not constant."
9.17pm From the second floor of the Sebel Cairns, Gavin King reports: "Looking at the window we can see vast tracts of blackness as entire suburbs lose power." Read more updates from The Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin reporters in the Cover It Live blog at the bottom of this page.
8.57pm Authorities fear some tourists in Cairns may underestimate Yasi's deadly threat - with backpackers crowding on to balconies at city resorts, posing for photos and chanting ''Yasi, Yasi, Yasi - Oi, Oi, Oi".
8.49pm The Cairns Post's Simon Crerar reports: "The cyclone siren is sounding in Cairns CBD and it is a horrible noise."
8.41pm At least one roof has been torn off, trees have been torn down and lights are flickering in the Innisfail region. Cassowary Coast Mayor Bill Shannon says he's seen the roof a building torn off near the council chambers where 500 residents are sheltering. "The eye is five hours away and it's already causing damage so it's pretty worrying," he told AAP. Tom Lee took this picture in Rankin Street, Innisfail, below:
8.03pm The latest estimate is that Cyclone Yasi will cross the coast at midnight Queensland time (1am AEDT), Sky News reports. It has slowed down somewhat, but a forecaster has told Sky News that cyclones are "notoriously fickle" and it could pick up its pace again. Destructive winds are expected from now. An hour ago, Yasi was estimated to be 150km east-northeast of Innisfail and 175km east of Cairns and moving west-southwest at 29km/h. Latest weather bureau update.
8.01pm "We are as prepared as we can be," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says. "Until we see this storm come across, we won't know until the early hours of the morning just how bad it has been. That unknown is causing as much anxiety as the storm itself."
7.47pm As Yasi trends on Twitter, celebrity tweets are offering their support. English comedian Stephen Fry tweeted: "All our thoughts with Queensland as they brace themselves for Cyclone Yasi. Good luck QL x." Aussie supermodel Miranda Kerr wrote: "Hi guys, our hearts go out to everyone in Australia as they prepare for Cyclone Yasi to hit the Qld coast. Our prayers are with you. Lv Rand."
7.43pm This Ustream webcam showing the scene in Innisfail has been getting progressively darker as the winds have risen. A couple of thousand people are watching it.
7.34pm The weather bureau's latest tracking map shows Cyclone Yasi crossing near Innisfail.
7.21pm Some historical context from one of the Bureau's forecasters, Alan Sharp, speaking to Reuters. If Yasi maintains its current intensity when it crosses the coast, it will be the strongest cyclone to hit Queensland since 1899.
The March 1899 cyclone struck a pearling fleet in Bathurst Bay on Cape York Peninsula, killing more than 300 people in Australia's deadliest storm.More here.
"Yasi is not enormously unusual but it is at the top-end of the scale as far size goes as well as intensity," Sharp told Reuters from Melbourne on Wednesday.
Sharp said the current La Nina was helping drive the record ocean temperatures around Australia that were helping fuel Yasi by providing abundant heat and moisture.
7.16pm The Bureau of Meteorology's latest update says damaging winds of 90km/h are currently affecting the coast.
DURING THE EVENING, THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST BETWEEN INNISFAIL AND CARDWELL, ACCOMPANIED BY A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE SOUTH OF THE CYCLONE CENTRE.Read on here.
Coastal residents between Cairns and Ayr are specifically warned of an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SEA LEVEL RISE [i.e. storm tide] as the cyclone approaches, crosses the coast and moves inland.
7.11pm Ergon Energy says 11,000 of its customers have lost power, from Atherton to Sarina, as a result of Cyclone Yasi.
7.04pm Elders at the Aboriginal community Yarrabah, south of Cairns, have been comparing Cyclone Yasi to the huge cyclone that struck the region during 1918 which included a storm surge. "We've been told stories about that, how many people got killed, about 12 luggers washed inland," Yarrabah's mayor Percy Neal says.
6.45pm The damage to Cairns and subsequent flooding may not be as bad as initially feared. Wind gusts of up to 125km/h are already being felt, but Yasi is now expected to cross between Innisfail and Cardwell, further south than originally thought, making authorities in Cairns reassess the impact slightly.
6.42pm It sounds almost like a shopaholic's dream-come-true, but for the 2500 people crammed into Cairns' Stockland shopping centre at Earlville, being stuck in a mall overnight is scary stuff as they face food shortages and a power black out. Two fast-food restaurants in the food court are open and lines are stretching more than 40 people deep.
6.39pm A photo taken by Adam Head in Townsville today that captures what much of the country is thinking tonight.
6.05pm Cyclone Yasi has slowed slightly as it bears down on the north Queensland coast, with the weather bureau now predicting it will now hit land about 11pm local time, or midnight AEDT. At 4pm the bureau estimated the cyclone to be 250km off Cairns and 275km north northeast of Townsville. Yasi was still moving west southwest towards the coast at 35 km/h.
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard today spoke to MPs in the path of Yasi, and then joined the vigil as far north Queensland waited for the cyclone's terrible arrival.More here.
"What I want to say to the people of far north Queensland is: In the hours of destruction that are coming to them, all of Australia is thinking of them. Our thoughts are with you," she told reporters in Canberra.
"At this time as you face these frightening hours, we are with you in spirit. And in the days and hours beyond this cyclone, we will be with you on the ground making a difference."
5.44pm More than 50 Energex field staff have volunteered to fly into areas damaged by Cyclone Yasi to restore power supplies.
5.39pm Opposition leader Tony Abbott has echoed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's concerns for the people of North Queensland: "On behalf of the Coalition I extend my best wishes to everyone bracing themselves against what looks to be one of the biggest storm systems ever to hit our country. The Coalition stands ready to support the Government in the disaster relief effort."
5.07pm The former mayor of Queensland's Palm Island, which lies off Queensland's coast, north of Townsville, says there had been no warnings to evacuate issued to the island, despite it being right in the path of the category five cyclone. Rob Blackley told the Seven Network: "It's just a continuation of the 'out of sight out of mind' mentality ... that exists with Aboriginal communities."
4.58pm No pets at Cairns evacuation centres.
4.35pm North Queensland is getting set for the night from hell. The effects of Yasi are now being felt from Cairns to Townsville, where streets are deserted and the winds are rising. The message from authorities to people in affected areas is now to stay put.
It is the largest cyclone to cross the Queensland coast since 1918. The state's premier, Anna Bligh, acknowledged that North Queenslanders faced a terrifying ordeal in the hours ahead.
"I know this is an incredibly frightening time," she said.
Yasi has veered very slightly south and is now tracking to cross the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell. It is expected to be a full-strength Category 5 storm when it comes ashore. It is still expected to be at cyclone strength when it reaches Mount Isa.
3.58pm Prime Minister Julia Gillard say 4000 soldiers based in Townsville plus defence ships and aircraft are available to help once the cyclone passed. She said the defence force had already played a significant role in evacuating hospital patients and assisting in the preparation.
3.55pm A live stream starts at 4pm (AEDT) above with Gavin King from The Cairns Post.
3.43pm news.com.au Facebook fan Sami Storey reports: "I'm in Bowen (550km south of Cairns), and we are getting absolutely hammered by wind n rain!! I think it's almost as bad as when TC Anthony hit!"
3.40pm The Prime Minister has warned there is a dreadful and frightening night ahead.
3.34pm This just in elsewhere on news.com.au:
IF you're struggling to grasp the magnitude of Tropical Cyclone Yasi, consider this: it is so large it would almost cover the United States, most of Asia and large parts of Europe.And the map of Yasi over the continental United States...
3.28pm The force of Cyclone Yasi's winds are already being felt, with a number of large trees in Ayr, south of Townsville, being knocked over by gale-force gusts. And at Airlie Beach, 600km south of Cairns, 3000 homes have lost power. Outages are also affecting the Atherton Tableland, inland from Cairns. Premier Anna Bligh warns this could be just the beginning, with 200,000 homes likely to lose power.
3.19pm Reader Marcello Avolio has sent us this link to his website which has three webcams - currently showing gathering stormclouds - and other live storm info.
3.15pm Some extracts from the latest warning from the Bureau of Meteorology:
SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE YASI IS A LARGE AND VERY POWERFUL TROPICAL CYCLONE AND POSES AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY WITHIN THE WARNING AREA, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN CAIRNS AND TOWNSVILLE.
DURING THE EVENING, THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST BETWEEN CAIRNS AND INGHAM, ACCOMPANIED BY A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE SOUTH OF THE CYCLONE CENTRE.
...
Between Port Douglas and Ayr these winds will become DESTRUCTIVE with gusts in excess of 125 km/hr developing during this afternoon and early evening, spreading into the tropical interior overnight. VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to 290 km/hr are expected to develop between Cairns and Ingham during the evening as the cyclone approaches and crosses the coast.
More stories from http://www.news.com.au/
More from You tube:
IS THIS A REMEMBRANCE FROM ALLAH, THE ALL MIGHTY OR JUST A MERE PUNISHMENT ?
to be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment