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Cyclone Yasi off the coast of Australia - Source: ONE News -
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Queensland premier Anna Bligh is warning residents to prepare themselves for a "frightening experience" as Cyclone Yasi approaches.
Evacuations are underway in Queensland as the state prepares for the category three cyclone to hit the already flood-ravaged state.
"We stand ready. It's not a task that we expected. We thought we'd borne all that we would be expected to bear in the last five weeks," said Bligh.
"But it seems that more is to be asked of us."
Bligh is calling on Queenslanders to prepare themselves ahead of the cyclone as forecasters predict gale-force winds of up to 250km/h, torrential rain and massive storm surges.
"[Yasi] may well be one of the largest and most significant cyclones that we have ever had to deal with," Bligh told ABC Australia.
"This is an event we have to take seriously. I know cyclones can at the last minute turn off the coast, and I certainly hope this one does.
"But the Bureau [of Meteorology] advises me in the most serious terms, that all of the modelling right now says this is going to cross our coast."
She said extra police had been deployed into north Queensland
and other backup teams were ready to go in once the cyclone had
crossed the coast.
She said authorities would be doorknocking some low-lying areas
today, urging at-risk residents to leave.
"I just appeal to everybody: if you have an emergency services worker or a police officer asking you to relocate please co-operate with them. They're trying to keep you and your family safe."
Cyclone Yasi could become a category four cyclone when it hits the northeast coast. If it builds to a four, wind gusts of up to 250km/h can be expected, as Cyclone Larry was when it devastated Innisfail and surrounding communities in March 2006.
Towns like Cooktown in the far north and Mayborough in the far south preparing for the worst, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Ports in Cairns through to Mackay will be closed this afternoon as other resort islands work on evacuation plans. Closing down schools across the state is currently being considered.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Ann Farrell said in terms of wind strength, Yasi had the potential to rival Larry, but it was of a far greater physical size.
"One measure is how far do the gales extend from the central eye. In this case, Yasi is certainly a bigger storm," she said.
Farrell said forecasts for Yasi would be refined as it approached, but all the modelling showed it was on course to hit the coast.
She said Yasi was a fairly fast moving system, meaning it was unlikely, on current information, to stay in the same location and dump vast amounts of rain on an already flood-devastated state.
She said the other factor to consider was the storm surge that would likely accompany the cyclone.
"The more intense the system, the greater the concern about storm surges," Farrell said.
"Certainly that is a distinct threat with this system.
"How far up above the normal high water mark it reaches will depend on the timing and what the tide is. Whether it is high tide or low tide will make a difference."
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