Cyclone Larry destroys homes near Innisfail
Cyclone Larry has hit the far northern coast of Queensland with winds of more than 290 km/h and reports that one in three homes have lost their roofs in Innisfail.
Major damage has been reported from Cairns to Ingham and the Bureau of Metereology has said that Larry continues to pose a serious threat to life and property.
Queensland Police operations co-ordinator for Far North Queensland Mike Keating said there were reports of four people sustaining minor injuries in the Innisfail area.
Twenty people are reported to be receiving hospital care in Cairns as a result of injuries sustained in the cyclone.
Michael Bergin from the Cyclone Warning Centre said Larry was now 60 kilometres west of Innisfail with residents in the Atherton Tablelands and Cairns area urged to be on stand-by.
There are reports of some people missing in the area, and residents have been urged not to outdoors prematurely.
The army is on standby to help residents affected by the cyclone.
Ergon Energy has reported that 50,000 homes have been blacked out in the area and it will take several days to restore power.
The brunt of the cyclone, which has been now been downgraded to category four, hit near the town of Innisfail.
Sunrise weatherman Grant Denyer, who is reporting from Townsville, said homes have been flattened "like cardboard", other buildings have lost their roofs and windows have been blown in.
Clive Strickland, an Innisfail resident, said Cyclone Larry was the worst storm he had seen in his 60 years in the area.
Resident Des Hensler has lost his roof and is taking shelter in a church.
He described the storm as "just frightening, total destruction, the rain and winds, it is just terrible".
"This is scary stuff," Mr Hensler said."All you can see is a grey sheet of water just taking everything in its path, trees, buildings everyting."
Mr Hensler said Larry was worse than Winifred which hit in 1989.
Susan from Kurramine Beach was hiding in the basement of a friend' s old Queenslander further inland.
She had tried to protect her two young children by using mattresses to protect the car they were hiding in as she watched sheet metal fly past outside.
Susan said she did not expect her Kurramine Beach home to be there when she returned.
Queensland premier Peter Beattie has declared a state of emergency and said inland communities could now be damaged as the cyclone headed west.
"Batten down now and we'll be there to help as soon as we can," Mr Beattie said.
Parents in the area have been asked not to send their children to school.
Making matters worse, another tropical cyclone called Wati has developed directly behind Cyclone Larry.
The new cyclone is expected to create a four metre surge of ocean water on top of two metre tide which will hit the coast at about 8am this morning and result in even worse flooding for low-lying areas.
Last night, thousands of residents fled the state's far north as authorities compared the violent storm to America's Hurricane Katrina.
Mandatory evacuations were enforced in numerous low-lying seafront areas, including in the Johnstone and Cardwell shires.
Residents around Cairns have lost power, including access to broadcast media, and have been told to tune into AM radio to hear the latest news on the cyclone.
While small in area, the cyclone hit the coast at 290 km/h.
Devestating Cyclone Tracey hit the Northern Territory at 220 km/h back in 1974.
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior forecaster Geoff Doueal said destructive winds were occuring between Ingham and Port Douglas, with low-lying areas between Cairns and Townsville also expected to be flooded.
Cairns radio DJ, John McKenzie, said the cyclone was the worst the country had seen since 1918.
He said some residents were cowering in their homes, desperate for help, but it was impossible.
Homes in North Queensland were built to withstand category three storms, and McKenzie said it was not known how to properly prepare for a category five storm.
Major explosions have been reported in the electricity grid meaning that the power supply in the region could be affected for weeks to come.
As flooding hits, the water supply will also be affected.
"We still do not know the full extent of the damage," Mr McKenzie said.
Premier Peter Beattie said the government would launch an appeal for Cyclone Larry victims later today and would also establish at 1300 emergency information telephone number.
Prime Minsiter John Howard said the federal government would offer any assistance required including military aid.
"At this time, I just want to say how concerned the rest of the country is with the frightening impact of the cyclone," Mr Howard said.
"It is clearly of enormous magnitude."
"This is a fearful and challenging time for the people of far north Queensland."
F1-11 aircraft will do a flyover of the affected region and take photographs of the damage.
The economic consequences for the region are likely to be severe.
Local Independent MP Bob Katter said 95 per cent of the country's banana crop had been destroyed by the cyclone.
He said the destruction would cost Queenslanders about 6000 jobs.
Opposition leader Kim Beazley said he was in northern Queensland a few weeks ago.
It's a very intensely settled really between Cairns and Townsville, you'd be suprised," Mr Beazley said.
Copyright © 2006 AAP, Seven Network (Operations) Ltd
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