Update Feb 3, 12:45pm NZDT - storm is slowing down, which means that landfall will not happen at the same time as high tide. Still expecting sea swells at about 7 meters for Townsville :(
Trackr from ABC is here http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/cyclone-season-2010-2011/
Queenslanders have been told to prepare themselves for a terrifying 24 hours as the "most catastrophic storm ever" takes aim at heavily populated areas of the state's north.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to category five this morning as the weather bureau warned it was likely to be "more life-threatening" than any storm seen in Australia in living memory.
Tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes ahead of the monster storm, which is expected to hit the coast between Cairns and Innisfail with winds of up to 295 kilometres per hour near the core.
Premier Anna Bligh says .... Cyclone Yasi is the "most catastrophic storm to ever hit our coast". "Frankly, I don't think Australia has ever seen a storm of this intensity in an area as populated as this stretch of our coast," she said. .... "We are facing a storm of catastrophic proportions in a highly populated area. You've heard all of the statistics and what it all adds up to is a very, very frightening time for people and their families. ... This is not something that passes over the coast and is over in an hour. This is 24 hours of quite terrifying winds, anywhere up to 300 kilometres per hour, torrential rain, likely loss of electricity and mobile communications. People really need to be preparing themselves mentally as much as anything else."
The weather bureau says Cyclone Yasi poses an "extremely serious threat" to life and property within the warning area, especially between Port Douglas and Townsville. "This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations," the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
A shopping centre was transfered into a shelter ...
Category 5 - Australia was never ever hit by sucha strong cyclone so far ...
This map from shows in a very dramaticway the size of this huge cyclone!
'Horrific' wind
Senior bureau forecaster Gordon Banks says it could take at least 24 hours for Cyclone Yasi to weaken after it crosses the coast. "There's still potential for it to become stronger ... as a strong category five we could see wind gusts in excess of 320 kilometres an hour, which is just horrific."
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