Having just sustained the worst flooding in decades, residents of Queensland, Australia are now facing threats from dangerous tropical cyclones. Tropical Cyclone Anthony just made landfall today and a much more powerful storm, Yasi, is on track for a strike this week.
Anthony made landfall at 10:00pm local time on Australia's northeastern coast near Bowen, Queensland. While not a particularly strong system, heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts are accompanying the storm.
Of greater concern is Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a storm currently approximately 1,200 miles northeast of Brisbane. Yasi currently features winds of 45 knots (51 mph) and gusts to 55 knots (63 mph). The storm is going to be encountering favorable conditions that is going to allow it to increase in strength considerably.
- View the latest forecast track and satellite images for Tropical Cyclone Yasi in the slideshow to the left
- Don't miss - NASA and NOAA satellite imagery of the flooding in Australia
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) forecasts that the storm will continue on a westerly track and gradually turn west-southwest. Assuming the forecast path holds, Yasi will make landfall sometime late Wednesday night / early Thursday morning south of Cairns, Queensland.
The storm is forecast to intensify between now and when it makes landfall, potentially striking with winds of 130 knots (150 mph). This would make the storm the equivalent of a high-end Category 4 hurricane which could bring catastrophic damage to the area.
Flooding brought on by heavy rains in recent weeks have destroyed tens of thousands of homes and businesses across Australia with Queensland being the hardest hit. Entire cities and towns were submerged in the flooding that has claimed at least 35 lives and is expected to cost $5.6 billion (AUD).
Prime Minister Julia Gillard told the Associated Press, "We're all made of tough stuff and we'll get through this, but this is another big, cruel blow coming on top of what has been a summer of tragedy already."
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Comments
if this cyclone hits im gonna go crazy with excitment
cause i love rain thunder storms the works thats y i luv cyclone
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