Evacuations begin ahead of cyclone Yasi

reply to post by BLV12


lol the chat in your first link is the best rofl.. ROAD TRIP

this guys actually sounds like OZ

Originally posted by squandered
reply to post by loagun

 

You don't realise how large Australia is.

of course i do, and i also realize it's small population.

reply to post by Whateva69


haha yeah, in one of the streams a guy pulled up in his ute got out and flexed his arms
others are asking for porn and what not.
typical Aussie banter, even at the worst of times.

www.bom.gov.au...

512 km composite Cairns Radar Loop

Eye of the cyclone clearly visible.
You can also get an idea of where the Willis Island radar station is, or was.

The BOM is warning that the effects of this could be felt as far west as Alice Springs!
Even up to 350km inland, it will still be a category 3 cyclone, with winds of 170kmh.

reply to post by BLV12


That boggles my mind. Will it still be wet after 350 km crossing arid land?

Originally posted by wycky
I heard today on talk back Radio. This guy is going to leave his home and stay with a friend in a water front apartment in Cairns which has been built to with stand a Category 5 Cyclone

You're sh*tting me? Is he crazy? What about the tidal surges!? If I were in Cairns or Innisfail right now, I'd be evacuating. The storm itself is almost the size of the entire Queensland coast and now it's been upgraded to a category 5. They're saying it's bigger than Hurricane Katrina. Right now, I am with my family a little further south in central north Queensland, but I take up semester residence in Townsville for most of the year, and I am just praying that Townsville is stays untouched by Yasi for the most part.
My uni keeps sending me email weather updates, the most recent saying that Yasi is expected to cross the coast in the Innisfail area around midnight tonight. Imagine that? Innisfail again after they endured so much with Cyclone Larry.. Poor buggers..

reply to post by squandered


My guess is that it will most likely bring rain to most parts it crosses. It's a bloody huge system remember.
Usually the other states get the remnants of the cyclones that hit Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The remnants usually include increased cloud cover, some wind, and some rain.

Cyclone Larry de-intensified pretty quickly after making landfall. This cyclone is not expected to detensify any time soon, nor anywhere near as quick. They are saying the next 20-24 hours are going to be absolute hell for the north east coast.

What a day it's been... It has gone from being a category 3 yesterday, then to a cat 4 and now it is forecast as a category 5

I hope everyone in the path has listened and decided to evacuate or get to somewhere safe. Got a couple more news articles and updates to post below. Thanks to everyone for helping and posting updates overnight and through today.


News Updates:

''Far North Qld to see destruction'' - PM

Wednesday, February 02, 2011 » 04:26pm

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Julia Gillard has told the people of far north Queensland all Australians will be thinking of them as tropical cyclone Yasi bears down on them.

She delivered a simple message to affected residents on Wednesday afternoon: 'In the hours of destruction that are coming to them, all of Australia is going to be thinking of them.'

'Our thoughts are with you,' she told reporters in Canberra.

Ms Gillard said Yasi was probably going to be the worst cyclone to hit Australia.

But before the clean-up could begin, she said people were about to face 'many, many dreadful frightening hours'.

Ms Gillard paid tribute to the spirit of Queenslanders, who are only just beginning to recover from devastating floods.

Full Story

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Evacuation centres full - Cairns council

Wednesday, February 02, 2011 » 02:30pm


Cairns residents have been told all of the city's cyclone shelters are full and they must seek refuge in homes and other accommodation in the safest parts of the city.

'Some areas are already experiencing strong wind gusts up to 125km/h which will increase throughout the afternoon and evening,' Cairns Regional Council said in a statement.

'Travelling by vehicle or on foot is unsafe'.


Full Story

(BOM Updates)--------------------------------

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IDQP0005
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: Transmitters serving the area from Cape Flattery to Sarina and inland to
Georgetown are requested to USE the Standard Emergency Warning Signal before
broadcasting the following warning.

TOP PRIORITY
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 16
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 3:54pm EST on Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal and island communities from Cape
Flattery to Sarina, extending inland to Julia Creek and to the area west of
Croydon.

A Cyclone WATCH is current for the remaining inland parts west to the Northern
Territory border and north of Winton.

At 4:00 pm EST Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, Category 5 was estimated to be 250
kilometres east of Cairns and 275 kilometres north northeast of Townsville and
moving west southwest at 35 kilometres per hour.

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.

Full BOM Bulletin

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This is a satellite picture sequence showing the last 12 Infrared (IR) images taken by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), MTSAT-1R satellite. The image covers the southeast quadrant of the MTSAT-1R satellite's total coverage. - source



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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.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly direction. The cyclone is expected to cross the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell about 11 pm EST.

Coastal residents within the warning area, and particularly between Cairns and Proserpine including the Whitsundays, are specifically warned of an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SEA LEVEL RISE [i.e. storm tide] as the cyclone approaches, crosses the coast and moves inland. The sea is likely to steadily rise up to a level which will be VERY DANGEROUSLY above the normal tide, with EXTREMELY DAMAGING WAVES, STRONG CURRENTS and FLOODING of low-lying areas extending some way inland. The storm tide will persist for many hours after landfall of the cyclone and secondary peaks may occur around high tide on Thursday morning.

Read More

Further News - Courtesy Ninemsn

Worst cyclone in memory looms off Qld
18:11 AEST Wed Feb 2 2011



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Thousands of north Queenslanders are hunkered down in shelters and homes waiting for the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century to slam into the coast south of Cairns.

Category five tropical Cyclone Yasi should make landfall between Innisfail and Cardwell around 11pm (AEST) on Wednesday, with authorities confident they have picked the spot within a 30km range of accuracy.

The cyclone is powered by winds of 295km/h, and gusts have already brought down trees, ruined weather monitoring equipment on Willis Island, off Cairns, and taken out power at Airlie Beach, Ayr and Townsville.


Full Story


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Shopping centre takes 2500 Yasi evacuees

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About 2500 people are crammed into one of Cairns' shopping centres which has become an evacuation centre. Food shortages, a power black out and a scary night ahead are feared as Cyclone Yasi barrels towards north Queensland.

Row upon row of people are lying in the food court of the Earlville Shopping Centre, in an area of the mall designated by owners, Stockland, as the safest to ride out Category 5 cyclones, with the expectation of winds topping 290km/hr.

Centre manager Paul Kelsey said they were only asked to open their doors to evacuees on Tuesday afternoon, and the thousands that have sought refuge have caught them off guard.

Full Story


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It's too late to flee from Yasi: authorities

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It's too late to get out of the path of the life-threatening Cyclone Yasi, which is powering towards the north Queensland coast with wind gusts as high as 290km/h.

Authorities are now telling residents in the impact zone the time for evacuating is over and they must "seek shelter wherever they are".
Cyclone Yasi has slowed slightly as it bears down on the north Queensland coast, with the Bureau of meteorology (BoM) predicting it will now hit land around 11pm (AEST).

Full Story

Information Update:

Worst cyclone in memory looms off Qld

Wednesday, February 02, 2011 » 06:42pm


Thousands of north Queenslanders are hunkered down in shelters and homes waiting for the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century to slam into the coast south of Cairns.

Category five tropical Cyclone Yasi should make landfall between Innisfail and Cardwell around 11pm (AEST) on Wednesday, with authorities confident they have picked the spot within a 30km range of accuracy.

The cyclone is powered by winds of 295km/h, and gusts have already brought down trees, ruined weather monitoring equipment on Willis Island, off Cairns, and taken out power at Airlie Beach, Ayr and Townsville.

Yasi will cross the coast on the high tide, with an accompanying storm surge expected to engulf low-lying areas.

Full Story

Bureau Of Metoerology ( BOM )

Issued at 7:05EST Wed 02/02/2011

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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.

THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST NEAR INNISFAIL CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, ACCOMPANIED BY A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE SOUTH OF THE CYCLONE CENTRE.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly direction and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight.

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. The sea is likely to steadily rise up to a level which will be VERY DANGEROUSLY above the normal tide, with EXTREMELY DAMAGING WAVES, STRONG CURRENTS and FLOODING of low-lying areas extending some way inland. The storm tide will persist for many hours after landfall of the cyclone and secondary peaks may occur around high tide on Thursday morning. Higher than normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and flooding in low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr.

People living in areas likely to be affected by this flooding should take measures to protect their property as much as possible, and be prepared to follow instructions regarding evacuation of the area if advised to do so by authorities.

Full Forecast Bulletin


--------------


------Top Priority - TC Update No: 19------


IDQP0005
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: Transmitters serving the area from Cape Flattery to Sarina and inland to
areas east of Croydon to Richmond are requested to USE the Standard Emergency
Warning Signal before broadcasting the following warning.

TOP PRIORITY
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 19
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 6:59pm EST on Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal and island communities from Cape
Flattery to Sarina, extending west across the tropical interior to the Northern
Territory border.

At 7:00 pm EST Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, Category 5 was estimated to be 150
kilometres east northeast of Innisfail and 175 kilometres east of Cairns and
moving west southwest at 29 kilometres per hour.

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.

THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST NEAR INNISFAIL
CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, ACCOMPANIED BY A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE SOUTH OF THE CYCLONE
CENTRE.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly
direction and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight.

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. The sea is likely to steadily rise up to a level
which will be VERY DANGEROUSLY above the normal tide, with EXTREMELY DAMAGING
WAVES, STRONG CURRENTS and FLOODING of low-lying areas extending some way
inland. The storm tide will persist for many hours after landfall of the cyclone
and secondary peaks may occur around high tide on Thursday morning. Higher than
normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and flooding in
low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr.

Full Bulletin


MTSAT


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Images upto date as of 8:34UDT (19:30EDT)

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Key facts on Australia's Cyclone Yasi



SYDNEY, Feb 2, 2011 (AFP) - - Some key facts on Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a deadly storm bearing down on Australia's populous northeast coast late Wednesday:
- Yasi began as a tropical low off Fiji, 3,500 kilometres (2,200 miles) east of Australia, and intensified to a Severe Tropical Cyclone as it swept across the Coral Sea to northeastern Queensland state
- It was upgraded to a Severe Tropical Cyclone with category five ferocity on a scale of five as it neared the coast. Category five cyclones are classed as "extremely dangerous" by Australian meteorologists, bringing "widespread destruction". They are equivalent to Beaufort scale 12 hurricanes.
- Yasi, the most dangerous cyclone ever to threaten Australia, is expected to pack winds in excess of 280 kilometres (175 miles) per hour across a 650-kilometre front, with a seething eye measuring about 35 kilometres wide.
- The main body of the storm sprawls across some 500 kilometres, with the associated weather fanning out for 2,000 kilometres. Local media estimate that it would cover the entire United States or large parts of Europe.
- It is expected to cross the Australian coast between the cities of Innisfail and Cardwell, a heavily populated agricultural and tourist region near the world famous Great Barrier Reef, around 11pm (1200 GMT). Savage winds will hammer the region for three to four hours.


Full Story

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BOM

Higher than normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and
flooding in low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr.

VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to 290 km/h are expected to develop between
Cairns and Ingham during the next few hours as the cyclone approaches. These
VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds will extend inland to the nearby ranges including the
Atherton Tablelands.

Due to the large size of the cyclone, people in the path of the VERY DESTRUCTIVE
WINDS are likely to experience these conditions for about 3 to 4 hours.


Tech Data:

Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi at 8:00 pm EST:
.Centre located near...... 17.2 degrees South 147.3 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 20 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the west southwest at 26 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 285 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 5
.Central pressure......... 930 hectoPascals


BOM Source

Information Bulletin 10:18 EDST:

Bureau Of Meteorlogy ( BOM )

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IDQP0005
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: Transmitters serving the area from Cape Flattery to Sarina and inland to
the Northern Territory border are requested to USE the Standard Emergency
Warning Signal before broadcasting the following warning.

TOP PRIORITY
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 21
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 8:50pm EST on Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal and island communities from Cape
Flattery to Sarina, extending west across the tropical interior to the Northern
Territory border.

At 9:00 pm EST Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, Category 5 was estimated to be 145
kilometres east southeast of Cairns and 110 kilometres east of Innisfail and
moving west southwest at 25 kilometres per hour.

THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST NEAR INNISFAIL
CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, WITH A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE AND BATTERING WAVES SOUTH OF THE
CYCLONE CENTRE.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly
direction and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight.

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.

Higher than normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and
flooding in low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr.

VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to 290 km/h are expected to develop between
Cairns and Ingham during the next few hours as the cyclone approaches. These
VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds will extend inland to the nearby ranges including the
Atherton Tablelands.

Due to the large size of the cyclone, people in the path of the VERY DESTRUCTIVE
WINDS are likely to experience these conditions for about 3 to 4 hours.

DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts in excess of 125 km/h between Cape Tribulation and
Ayr are expected to spread inland overnight.

Full Bulletin

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Updated: 10:32UDT

BOM Tech Bulletin:


IDQ20018
TROPICAL CYCLONE TECHNICAL BULLETIN: AUSTRALIA - EASTERN REGION
Issued by BRISBANE TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING CENTRE
at: 0633 UTC 02/02/2011
Name: Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi
Identifier: 14U
Data At: 0600 UTC
Latitude: 17.1S
Longitude: 148.1E
Location Accuracy: within 15 nm [30 km]
Movement Towards: west southwest [248 deg]
Speed of Movement: 19 knots [35 km/h]
Maximum 10-Minute Wind: 110 knots [205 km/h]
Maximum 3-Second Wind Gust: 155 knots [285 km/h]
Central Pressure: 930 hPa
Radius of 34-knot winds NE quadrant: 190 nm [350 km]
Radius of 34-knot winds SE quadrant: 240 nm [445 km]
Radius of 34-knot winds SW quadrant: 170 nm [315 km]
Radius of 34-knot winds NW quadrant: 140 nm [260 km]
Radius of 48-knot winds NE quadrant: 80 nm [150 km]
Radius of 48-knot winds SE quadrant: 120 nm [220 km]
Radius of 48-knot winds SW quadrant: 100 nm [185 km]
Radius of 48-knot winds NW quadrant: 60 nm [110 km]
Radius of 64-knot winds: 40 nm [70 km]
Radius of Maximum Winds: 15 nm [30 km]
Dvorak Intensity Code: T6.5/6.5/D1.5/24HRS STT: D0.5/6HRS
Pressure of outermost isobar: 1002 hPa
Radius of outermost closed isobar: 240 nm [445 km]
Storm Depth: Deep
FORECAST DATA
Date/Time : Location : Loc. Accuracy: Max Wind : Central Pressure
[UTC] : degrees : nm [km]: knots[km/h]: hPa
+12: 02/1800: 18.6S 144.5E: 045 [085]: 085 [155]: 951
+24: 03/0600: 19.9S 141.3E: 075 [140]: 045 [085]: 984
+36: 03/1800: 21.1S 138.6E: 110 [205]: 030 [055]: 992
+48: 04/0600: 22.1S 136.4E: 140 [260]: 025 [045]: 996
+60: 04/1800: 23.0S 134.7E: 185 [345]: 025 [045]: 996
+72: 05/0600: 23.7S 133.9E: 230 [425]: 025 [045]: 996
REMARKS:
The latest imagery shows Yasi as very symmetric showing a well defined eye with
surrounding deep convection. Dvorak intensity: Eye pattern white surround [6.0]
with OW/W [0.5] eye adjustment giving DT=6.5, adj. MET=6.0. FT/CI=6.5. Max winds
estimated at 110 knots [205 km/h] [AMSU/SATCON estimates at 125kn [1min]].
Surface observations indicate hurricane force winds extend about 50 nm [95 km]


Full Bulletin




Forecast Track Map - Issued at 8:54 pm EST Wednesday 2 February 2011.


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THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST NEAR INNISFAIL CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, WITH A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE AND BATTERING WAVES SOUTH OF THE CYCLONE CENTRE.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly direction and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight.

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.

Higher than normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and flooding in low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr.

VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to 290 km/h are expected to develop between Cairns and Ingham during the next few hours as the cyclone approaches. These VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds will extend inland to the nearby ranges including the Atherton Tablelands.

Due to the large size of the cyclone, people in the path of the VERY DESTRUCTIVE WINDS are likely to experience these conditions for about 3 to 4 hours.

DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts in excess of 125 km/h between Cape Tribulation and Ayr are expected to spread inland overnight.

DAMAGING WINDS with gusts to 90 km/hr are occurring in remaining coastal areas between Cape Flattery and Sarina, and are forecast to spread inland and west to Mt Isa during Thursday.

Winds are forecast to gradually ease about the east coast during Thursday morning as the cyclone moves inland.

FLOODING RAINS will develop from Cooktown to Sarina tonight and gradually extend inland.


People in the path of the very dangerous cyclone should stay calm and remain in a secure shelter, above the expected water level, while the very destructive winds continue.
- Do not venture outside if you find yourself in the eye of the cyclone; very destructive winds from a different direction could resume at any time.
- Follow the evacuation advice or directions of Police, Emergency Services personnel and local authorities.


More Information

News Updates:




Ninemsn AU


Queenslanders prepare for dark, lonely night



A nemsn reader is one of many Queenslanders taking shelter in their bathrooms as the monstrous category five Cyclone Yasi bears down.

Jacki, who did not want her full name published, is one of about 20 people bunkering down in Rydges Hotel on Palmer Street in Townsville together with six staff.



"We've been told to move into the bathroom after 9pm," Jacki told ninemsn.

"We've been basically told that regardless of what we hear we're not allowed to leave and just to stay in our room."

Jacki said she expected that power in the hotel would go out soon and the lights were flickering.

"It's going to be a very dark and a long night in the bathroom," she said.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is predicting Yasi will cross the coast as a severe category five cyclone at around midnight (AEST).

Authorities have warned of widespread power outages as Cyclone Yasi crosses land, with a weather station that sat in the storm's path already wiped out.

Looking out her hotel window Jacki said the wind was growing stronger and "the trees are just moving all over the place".


Full Story



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Bigpond News AU


Yasi travels slower but still category 5 - Wednesday, February 02, 2011 » 10:14pm


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Cyclone Yasi is travelling across the sea at a much slower speed but it will still arrive at midnight Queensland time as a category 5 monster, according to the latest Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) report.

The BoM's 8pm (AEST) warning states that Cyclone Yasi is now travelling at 26km/h and is estimated to be 135km east north-east of Innisfail and 165km east of Cairns.

It is moving in a west south-west direction and almost 10 kilometres slower than at 6pm and is generating wind gusts up to 285km/h.

"We've been told not to open our window but if you do open the window you can definitely hear it," she said.

Full Story

reply to post by Havick007


Oh! Came back to look and this thread was finished! I wonder how Munky66 is going and if he took his family away or stayed.

I think what happened to these threads was that I know this was the first one posted but it must have been too early in the morning for everyone else to see (I was up at 4.45am this morn looking at that "Star" in the East). ..then when I came back on to check about Yasi I thought I was replying to that same post but was instead on another thread because it appeared in the "New Posts" section and was more easily seen that time of day when people were awake... make sense???

reply to post by Australiana


yeah i missed a fair bit of the day as i was busy and by the time i got back on ATS the other thread had already taken off.

Yeah munkey was saying yesterday he wasnt gonna evacuate, hopefully he/she changed their minds. As yesterday it was only forecast as a cat 3....

It's not officially closed, i just got cranky and wrote that....


The other thread is now at 87 flags.... it makes me cringe and wanna throw something at my monitor

Premier Anna Bligh QLD - Press Conference:

I'm going to continue posting in this thread since we have posted so much information already in here, and avoid the other thread. I dont see a need for a second thread, and our continual posting has pretty much kept this thread around the top of the first page so yeh.

Here's an image comparing Cyclone Tracy a cat 4 cyclone, which destroyed the city of Darwin in 1974, and Cyclone Yasi.


Townsville recorded record high waves of 9.5 meters in the surge. The wave height bouy last night was actually tipped over by waves crashing over it, something that's never happened before, and it was giving false readings of 18 meter high waves.



Satellite image as it made landfall around midnight local time.

These are some of the first photos of the devastation. I think we will see some real devastation around Mission Beach where the eye crossed over.
This is in Tully.




Two babies were born in the middle of the cyclone in Innisfail, and another in Cairns over night.
What a way to enter the world.

Yasi was downgraded to a cat 4 after it made landfall, but was still the strongest cyclone to ever hit.
It's now down to a cat 2.

Munky - If you are OK and come online then let us know how you are! I ma watching the television now ( I'm on holidays) and all the buildings seem like they are standing. I was so scared for them but it does not appear as bad as I originally thought. I imagined horrible fatalities and obliviation. I am glad though.

Locals at Tully are now saying it was worse than cyclone Larry. This is the town that was worst hit. Pictures and stories from Tully are just starting to come through now. A high tide (even higher than expected) is about to hit Cairns and coastal towns in 5 minutes and are now fearing flooding.

lets just hope we dont see any flooding