Sydney – A slow-moving cyclone has wreaked havoc on Australia’s north-eastern coast after the category four storm hit the country’s mainland on Tuesday afternoon.
Cyclone Debbie made landfall between the towns of Proserpine and Bowen, close to the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. It then moved south-west and has since been downgraded to category three.
At its worst, the cyclone saw sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 260 kilometres per hour.
Social media was awash with videos of the devastating wind, rainfall and floods. Roofs were torn off, glass windows broken and trees were uprooted while some neighbourhoods faced water inundation.
There have been been no reports of fatalities so far.
Due to its slow progress, the cyclone caused major havoc for a sustained period. Top tourist destinations Airlie Beach and Whitsunday and Hamilton islands were among the towns that faced the onslaught.
Whitsunday region councillor John Collins said the initial winds sounded “like a jumbo jet is parked on my roof.”
“I’ve been through a few cyclones that are quick and nasty but this one is going to go all day. It’s a long wait, sitting here waiting while it tears everything up,” he told media.
Queensland government officials warned people to prepare for news of significant damage, injuries, and even deaths.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said more than 48,000 houses were without electricity and there were “preliminary reports” of significant structural damage in Proserpine.
She described the cyclone as “equivalent to a one in 100 year event.”
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said a number of communities were cut off from communication due to the storm, so it was not immediately clear how badly some of the coastal towns were hit.
He urged people to stay off the roads and warned against looting.
Strong winds are expected to continue in Bowen for the next six hours and Proserpine for the next 10 hours. The impact of cyclone Debbie would continue for the next three days, Palaszczusk told reporters.
Due to heavy rainfall, as well as high tides in the area, major floods are likely, the country’s Bureau of Metereology has warned.
In many areas emergency services were unable to go out to assist people due to high winds and storms.
“This is a dangerous cyclone. People must stay indoors. Please do not go outside, and please contact the emergency services for assistance,” Palaszczusk said in Brisbane.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told parliament in Canberra that the federal government has activated a disaster response plan and the Australian defence forces had set up a joint task force.
Thousands of people have been deployed or are on stand-by to assist in the affected areas, he said.
Australia’s Justice Minister Michael Keenan told parliament the disaster response plan would allow the fast-tracking of requests for non-financial assistance from the Australian government.
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said the country’s national emergency call centre had also been put on stand-by to help the Queensland state government.
Army Brigadier Chris Field told reporters in Townsville that disaster relief personnel and equipment would start moving into affected areas on Wednesday morning.
The insurance industry peak body, the Insurance Council of Australia, has officially declared Cyclone Debbie a catastrophe, which triggers the establishment of a taskforce and the opening of an emergency hotline.
It projected insured losses of more than a billion dollars.
The Queensland state government has declared 600 kilometres along the coast a danger zone. Tens of thousands were evacuated from the area.
Almost 400 schools and childcare centres are closed, and some 2,000 emergency workers have been deployed in the area. About 600 hospital beds are available.
Torrential rains have lashed the region since Monday afternoon, with some areas seeing 190 millimetres of rainfall within an hour.
Whitsundays mayor Andrew Willcox said: “Outside it is just pouring horizontally, the rain is falling sideways, the trees look like they’re in a disco, and it hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“Debbie is one mean, big bitch,” said Jan Clifford, a local councillor at Airlie Beach. A tree one metre in diameter in her backyard was uprooted, and another one landed on her roof, she said.
-dpa
