AUSTRALIA: CYCLONE HAMISH UPDATE – 8th March 2009

Cyclone Hamish is continuing to track parallel down the Queensland coast and thus far there have been no reports of injuries or major damage. Damaging winds can now be expected between Mackay and Bundaberg with the storm currently located to the north-east of Mackay.

The cyclone has been downgraded from a category 5 cyclone to a category 4 cyclone. The storm is massive and will still cause major damage should it cross the coast on Tuesday as forecast. The cyclone is generating winds of up to 260 km per hour.

Lady Elliot, Heron and Fraser Islands are all being evacuated as the cyclone heads in their direction. It is thought that the Hervey Bay area is the likely area the cyclone will fully impact on, with its remnant reaching possibly Brisbane.

AUSTRALIA: CYCLONE HAMISH INTENSIFIES TO CATEGORY 4

Cyclone Hamish has further intensified to a category 4 system as it drifts further south off the Queensland coast. The cyclone is expected to cross the coast sometime in the next 48 hours and may yet become a category 5 system with winds reaching close to 300 km an hour.

As the storm approaches the coast it is expected to bring a massive storm surge of up to 2 metres or even more, as the storm is set to strike during unusually high tides, which would bring flooding to low lying coastal areas. The heavy rain will bring further flooding to the already drenched and flooded Queensland inland.

Premier Anna Bligh has signed a ‘Declaration of a Disaster Situation’ which allows authorities to evacuate threatened areas. The declaration covers the area from Lucinda in the far north to Hervey Bay in the south.

The cyclone is now centred 250 km to the north-east of Townsville and is moving to the south-east, roughly parallel to the Queensland coast. The Whitsundays are bracing for the storm’s impact as early as tomorrow morning, with tourists and residents evacuated.

The storm system is feared to bring damage comparable to that of Cyclone Larry which devastated north Queensland several years ago.

AUSTRALIA: FLOODING CRISIS IN QUEENSLAND TO GET WORSE AS CYCLONE CLOSES ON COAST

As Queensland begins to dry out after flooding affected 60% of the state, the flooding crisis is set to get worse as Cyclone Hamish closes on the Queensland coast near Townsville. The cyclone intensified overnight to a category 3 system and is expected to reach category 4 before it crosses the coast somewhere in the vicinity of Townsville.

Heavy rains and winds are already buffeting the coast, with some areas having already received in excess of 160 mm of rain. The cyclone is generating 220 km per hour winds and is located about 220 km of the Queensland coast to the east of Cairns.

The cyclone is expected to cross the coast in about 36-48 hours time.