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.

NEW DOLPHIN OR DOLPHIN SUB-SPECIES FOUND NEAR BROOME

A new sub-species of dolphin has been discovered in coastal waters to the north-west of Australia. The dolphin is believed to be a sub-species of the Snubfin Dolphin, which was only recently discovered in 2005 near Townsville in Queensland.

The newly discovered dolphin population near Broome (Roebuck Bay) is described as being shy, pale grey and having a pug-like bulbous head, snub nose and stumpy fins.