2 February 2011 Last updated at 09:16 ET

Australia Cyclone Yasi roars into Queensland coast

Image provided by Nasa shows Tropical Cyclone Yasi as it approaches Queensland, Australia

This image provided by Nasa shows Cyclone Yasi as it approaches Queensland

Powerful gusts of wind brought by the most dangerous storm ever predicted to hit Queensland have begun buffeting northern parts of the Australian state.

Cyclone Yasi, a category five storm, the most severe level, is expected to make landfall shortly.
It will hit between Innisfail and Cairns, where 89,000 people across the region are already without power.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has warned residents of devastation and heartbreak on an unprecedented scale.
Ms Bligh described the weather system as the "most catastrophic storm ever seen" in the state.

Analysis

Nick Bryant BBC News, Sydney

Queenslanders are being told to brace for the most catastrophic storm ever to hit their shores. State Premier Anna Bligh said she did not think Australia had ever seen a storm of this intensity in an area as thickly populated.
She predicted it would be a very frightening time, with 24 hours of terrifying winds, torrential rains, and the likely loss of electricity and mobile phones.
Meteorologists upgraded Cyclone Yasi to a category five storm. With winds of almost 300km/h (185mph), they are warning it poses an extremely serious threat to life and property, especially around the cities of Cairns and Townsville.

She warned that it could cause a tidal surge as high as nine metres (nearly 30 feet), overwhelming low-lying coastal areas.

She said it would be a difficult night and a tough few days for the people of north Queensland, adding: "We are in completely uncharted waters."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the storm as a "cyclone of savagery and intensity".
"People are facing some really dreadful hours in front of them," she said.
The state disaster co-ordinator warned residents they would be on their own for up to 24 hours when Yasi strikes.
Many fear this could be worse than Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin on Christmas Eve in 1974 and killed 71 people.
That was a category four storm.
The cyclone follows the worst floods in the state's history, triggered by tropical storms which have battered the region since the end of November.
'Life-threatening' Cyclone Yasi is expected to make landfall between the northern city of Cairns - home to some 164,000 people, and popular with tourists - and the rural community of Innisfail, some 100km (60 miles) to the south.
The eye of the storm alone was reported to be 35km (22 miles) in width, with a front stretching across 650km (400 miles).

Analysis

Holly Green BBC Weather

This storm developed into a severe tropical cyclone as it tracked across the Coral Sea and large amounts of very warm, moist air were dawn into the system, giving it a great deal of energy.
Cyclone Yasi is not being linked to the La Nina weather pattern at this stage - in fact the sea temperatures in the Coral Sea are about average.
There are lots of ingredients needed to develop a tropical storm including heat, moisture and falling surface pressure. All these factors have come together this time to create a powerful storm.

BBC Weather: Interactive map

High winds and driving rain are already battering coastal towns and cities. In Innisfail, a roof has already been ripped from a building and trees are said to be thrashing violently.

A resident of Ravenshoe, west of Innisfail, who gave her name as Glenda, says she is on an isolated property.
"We couldn't get any tape for our windows so we tried to use wide sticky tape but it's peeling off... we are very scared. One side of our whole house is just glass," she told ABC news.
"We are actually camping under a desk that is bolted to concrete walls on two sides."
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that Cyclone Yasi posed an "extremely serious threat to life and property" within the warning area, especially between Cairns and Townsville.
"This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations," it warned.
More than 10,000 people are in evacuation centres, and there were reports that those who had not already secured a place were turned away.
Those remaining in their homes were told to tape up windows, fill sandbags and prepare a "safe room" with mattresses, pillows, a radio, food and water supplies to wait out the cyclone.
They were also encouraged to fill their bathtubs with water for drinking supplies.
'Bunkering down'
State disaster co-ordinator Ian Stewart said it would be more dangerous for people to panic and leave their properties than to stay put once the storm strikes.

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My biggest worry is not allowing the children to sense my fear”

End Quote Tania Moevao Cairns resident

Your stories: 'Dark clouds descend'

"[People] should be preparing themselves for the fact that the roofs of their houses may lift off but that does not make the structure of the house any less sound," he said.

Earlier, residents frantically bought up food and fuel supplies to last through what they have been told will be a storm of unprecedented ferocity.
Cairns resident Philip Baker told the BBC it seemed "a safer bet" to stay in his home rather than flee or head to an overcrowded evacuation centre with his wife and young daughter.
"We're as prepared as we can be. There is little left to do but wait.
"The authorities have been wonderful, supplying us with updates and the latest information via text. We've been told that we might lose power and the phone lines in the next few hours.

"The windows have been taped and if the situation rapidly deteriorates we plan to bunker down in a windowless room when the storm hits - there's just enough room to fit a single blow-up mattress on the floor. We're reasonably high up, so hopefully should be okay."
Ahead of the storm, thousands of people fled their homes close to the coast and the army transported hospital patients south, from Cairns to Brisbane.
More than 400,000 people live in the cyclone's expected path. The area, which includes the Great Barrier Reef, is also popular with tourists.
Cairns airport closed on Wednesday. Rail lines, mines and coal ports have also shut down.

Disasterpastor45

Wednesday, February 2, 2011