'Destructive storm' hits Queensland

'Destructive' tropical cyclone Marcia hits Queensland

A "very destructive" storm has hit the coast of Queensland, forcing evacuations from coastal communities, Australian officials say.

Forecasters warn Category Five tropical cyclone Marcia - with wind gusts up to 285km/h (177 mph) - is bringing heavy rain and "abnormally high tides".

The cyclone made landfall between St Lawrence and Yeppoon.

Separately, Category Four tropical cyclone Lam hit the Northern Territory, causing power cuts for thousands.

The storm - with winds reaching 230km/h - struck Elcho Island and is moving south-west. Local residents said roofs had been torn off from a number of houses and trees uprooted.

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Darren Ferguson is on Great Keppel Island, where winds are up to 150 km/h

There have been no reports of injuries there, and the storm was later downgraded to Category Three as it continued moving inland.
'Real moving beast'
 
"Severe tropical cyclone Marcia, Category Five, is currently crossing the coast near Shoalwater Bay north of Yeppoon," Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said in a statement.

"Destructive winds" are threatening coastal and island communities, meteorologists warn

 

 In Yeppoon, about 870 homes were evacuated because of storm surges

Satellite images of Cyclones Lam (top) and Marcia

Further south, Brisbane residents have been preparing for possible flooding

 

It said "destructive winds" would threaten communities between St Lawrence and Gladstone in the morning, and Capricornia and Burnett districts later in the day.

Local residents should be prepared for an evacuation if advised by the authorities, the BoM added. It also warned about possible tidal and flash flooding.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 134 schools and 43 child care centres along the coast had been closed so far.

She said 100 people had been evacuated from Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay located at the southern tip of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, and some tourists were being moved to safety on Heron Island, also on the Great Barrier Reef.

In Yeppoon, about 870 homes were evacuated because of storm surges, according to Queensland emergency authorities.

The mayor of the nearby town of Rockhampton, Margaret Strelow, told ABC Radio that Marcia was like "a real moving beast" as it appeared to head first to the west of the city and then to the east.

Further south, local media reported that 90,000 sandbags had so far been handed out across Queensland's major city, Brisbane, because of predictions of heavy rain and flooding.

At a news conference, Ms Palaszczuk said it was "a serious event", warning that "over the next few hours, many thousands of Queenslanders are going to go through a harrowing and terrifying experience".

Category Five tropical cyclone

• Extremely dangerous with widespread destruction

• Strongest winds are very destructive with typical gusts over open flat land of more than 280km/h.

• These winds correspond to the highest category on the Beaufort scale, Beaufort 12 (Hurricane)

Source: Australia's Bureau of Meteorology

"This is an important time now not to panic but to make sure you have you preparations in place," she said.

Describing the cyclone as "very serious", Prime Minister Tony Abbott later said: "Let's hope we can get through it... without any loss of life".

A number of people from coastal areas were evacuated before the cyclone hit.

Officials later said that the situation was so dangerous that emergency workers would soon need to take cover themselves, the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney reports.

Several towns - including Mackay, Proserpine and Yeppoon, about 670km north of Brisbane - were reportedly in lockdown, establishing emergency centres.

"This is going to be a calamity, no doubt about that," Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said, warning that it was a "desperate situation".

"Our primary focus from this point on is the safety of all human life in that area."

Marlina Whop, an ABC reporter in Yeppoon, said there was a "horizontal rain" in the town and residents were worried about a storm surge.

"It's the unknown that's the worry," Yeppoon resident Beeann Busby earlier told the Brisbane Courier Mail newspaper.

"We've had so many close calls over the years that we've probably gotten a bit complacent but this one's looking a bit more serious."

In 2013, powerful tropical cyclone Oswald hit Queensland, killing at least four people and flooding wide areas.