| Ului Cyclone Ului re-intensifies to category 3; crosses coast at 1.30am Sunday Staff writers From: The Courier-Mail March 21, 2010 7:52AM CYCLONE Ului has crossed the coast near Airlie Beach, its destructive winds sounding like the scream of jet engines as it moved into north Queensland. Sixty thousand home are without power, airports are closed, and the full extent of the damage is yet to become clear after Ului slammed into north Queensland. The storm's winds brought down trees and powerlines ac\ross a wide area, with blackouts affecting 60,000 homes between Mackay, Proserpine and Collinsville. Premier Anna Bligh will meet with emergency service management at Kedron at 8am today. The Whitsundays mayor said power had been cut and many trees are down in Bowen and Proserpine but it's too early to know what damage Cyclone Ului has done. "It's still dark and pretty breezy here,'' mayor Mike Brunker said. "I'm driving around the main street of Bowen now and there's a lot of trees down and there's been similar damage in Proserpine.'' He said he expected a wave of calls to Bowen's disaster centre once people began to venture outside. He said the power had been out in Bowen since 1am (AEST), half an hour before Ului crossed the coast as a category three storm near Airlie Beach, south of Bowen. As it crossed the coast, Ului had winds gusting to 200km/h. The storm's power as it slammed ashore stunned residents, with the scream of the wind making it almost impossible to sleep. The Courier-Mail's Sophie Elsworth, who was staying in a Mackay Marina multi-storey hotel built to withstand Category 5 storm, said the sound of the wind was amazing. She said colleague Rob Maccoll, who was staying in the hotel's top floor, was worried the property might lose its roof when the force of the wind - which sounded "like a 747" - blew in the door of a neighbouring unit. Trees and powerlines were down around Mackay and it was understood conditions were worse around AirlieBeach and Proserpine. Expect flooding, wind gusts Cyclone Ului has been downgraded to a category two, with communities from Bowen south to Seaforth told to expect gusts to 155km/h this morning. The Bureau of Meteorology said Ului was expected to continue inland, crossing Proserpine, Bowen and Collinsville before gradually weakening as it moves further inland later today. At 5am (AEST), the cyclone was moving inland and was 36km east-northeast of Collinsville and 44km west of Proserpine. The Bureau of Meteorology expects the cyclone to quickly weaken into a rain depression, likely by this afternoon. Heavy rain and some flooding is expected along the coast from Bowen south to Mackay, and west along the Clarke Range. Disaster zone Mr Brunker said Ergon Energy had crews on standby to restore power, but that work could not begin until the winds died down. He said disaster management authorities would meet later in the day to form a picture of the damage and form a response plan. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday issued disaster declarations for the Townsville, Burdekin, Whitsunday, Charters Towers, Mackay, Isaac, Rockhampton and Central Highlands local government areas. The declaration gives emergency authorities the power of mandatory evacuations if required. More than 150 State Emergency Service volunteers have been put on alert while Queensland Fire and Rescue response teams are in place in threatened areas. Police have imposed a curfew on businesses in Airlie Beach while hotel guests in the tourism hub are being asked to sign waivers ahead of Ului's arrival. The Bureau of Meteorology warned residents not to venture outside during the eye of the cyclone, which is expected to last for up to an hour in some areas. A severe weather warning has also been issued for dangerous surf conditions for the Capricornia, Wide Bay and South East Queensland coasts. For information visit disaster.qld.gov.au http://www.news.com.au/national/cyclone-ului-re-intensifies-to-category-3-crosses-coast-at-130am-sunday/story-e6frfkvr-1225843308177 Another stoery: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/cyclone-ului-moves-inland-after-striking-whitsundays-20100320-qn1j.html |