That's What I call a Cyclone

[JohnB]

TC Yasi is now a Cat 5 and will cross the coast sometime tonight.

 

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/sohemi/sohemiloops/shirgmscol.html

 

As much as possible we have evacuated the effected cities. There are already reports that outlying weather stations have ceased responding.

 

The following alert was issued today;

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

DAMAGING WINDS with gusts to 90 km/h are currently affecting the coast and

islands, and are forecast to spread into the tropical interior overnight and

west to Julia Creek during Thursday.

 

Between Port Douglas and Ayr these winds will become DESTRUCTIVE with gusts in

excess of 125 km/h developing during this afternoon and early evening, spreading

into the tropical interior overnight. VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to

290 km/h are expected to develop between Cairns and Ingham during the evening as

the cyclone approaches and crosses the coast. These VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds will

also occur north of the cyclone and affect 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.

 

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 during the afternoon and

then extend inland overnight.

 

People between Cape Flattery and Sarina, extending inland to Julia Creek and to

the area west of Croydon should complete preparations quickly and be prepared to

shelter in a safe place.

- Boats and outside property should be secured.

- For cyclone preparedness and safety advice, visit Queensland's Disaster

Management Services website [www.disaster.qld.gov.au]

- For emergency assistance call the Queensland State Emergency Service [sES] on

132 500 [for assistance with storm damage, rising flood water, fallen trees on

buildings or roof damage].

 

People about the remaining inland parts west to the Northern Territory border

and north of Winton should consider what action they will need to take if the

cyclone threat increases.

- Information is available from your local government

- For cyclone preparedness and safety advice, visit Queensland's Disaster

Management Services website [www.disaster.qld.gov.au]

- For emergency assistance call the Queensland State Emergency Service [sES] on

132 500 [for assistance with storm damage, rising flood water, fallen trees on

buildings or roof damage].

 

Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi at 4:00 pm EST:

.Centre located near...... 17.1 degrees South 148.1 degrees East

.Location accuracy........ within 30 kilometres

.Recent movement.......... towards the west southwest at 35 kilometres per hour

.Wind gusts near centre... 285 kilometres per hour

.Severity category........ 5

.Central pressure......... 930 hectoPascals

 

 

Please ensure that neighbours have heard and understood this message,

particularly new arrivals or those who may not fully understand English.

 

To give an idea of the size of this thing, the area where the most destructive winds are expected to hit, from Cairns to Ingham, is a distance of about 200 km.

 

Innesfail which was smashed by Larry in 2006 is right in the firing line again. (And we haven't finished fixing it up from Larry yet. )

 

Down here in Brisbane, we got wet but up north is going to be a mess. Many fear that we will see devastation similar to Tracy tomorrow morning.

 

If anybody has any prayers to spare, they need them up north tonight.

[CaptainPanic]

You guys sure take a beating lately. First the floods (is the water gone already?) and now this cyclone, which will bring devastation and possibly more floods.

 

I hope everybody is evacuated, because this sure sounds like it's gonna be very dangerous...

[JohnB]

Thanks CaptainPanic. As they say, "It never rains but it pours", quite literally in this case. Most of the Qld floods are gone but the ground is still mostly waterlogged so any new rain will be runoff and flooding almost immediately.

 

Well, it looks like we've been very lucky. As of 10:00 hrs we have no reports of casualties. Evacuation centres are still in lockdown as there is another storm surge hitting coastal cities as I write.

 

Yasi is inland and downgraded to a Cat 2. It is expected to be a Cat 1 by the time it hits Mt. Isa tonight some 700 km from the coast. This is a bit of a worry as most people in Isa will have never seen any kind of cyclone.

 

The main coastal cities have some damage, but it doesn't seem major. 177,000 homes are without power and this is expected to rise as flooding continues. Communication is out for many small communities and crews are cutting their way in. The Army has 200 generators waiting for deployment as soon as they know where to go and can get into the effected areas.

 

Tully has 1/3 of homes either destroyed or uninhabitable, the evacuation centre there was destroyed and had to be abandoned. Cardwell apparently has boats 2-3 blocks inland, either by wind or storm surge. Severe damage in Mission Beach and we're still waiting for word out of Ingham. It will probably be 24 hours before we know the full extent of the damage. Fallen trees and flooding are blocking roads everywhere, however initial reports are that the main electricity grid "spine" has survived.

 

Right now we are counting blessings. The towns we can and will rebuild but everybody is quite stunned at the complete lack of casualties.

 

3 babies were born at the height of the storm so the score is being counted as;

 

Queensland 3 - Yasi 0.

Edited February 3, 2011 by JohnB

[A Tripolation]

3 babies were born at the height of the storm so the score is being counted as;

 

Queensland 3 - Yasi 0.

 

Hope it stays that way.

Edited February 3, 2011 by A Tripolation

[Moontanman]

I hope everything has gone well for everyone there, I've been through a couple of Cat 3 storms, i don't envy anyone being in a Cat 5....