‘Total devastation’ near Innisfail, Queensland – Cairns largely spared
By Paul Colgan, Owen Vaughan, and Helen Davidson, news.com.au
February 03, 2011 6.28am Dozens of power lines have been brought down by cyclonic winds. More than 170,000 homes are without power, including 40,000 in Cairns, and 70,000 in Townsville. 6.36am Cairns appears to have been spared the worst of Cyclone Yasi’s fury, but thousands of residents have spent a scary night in evacuation centres that lost power. Police who conducted limited patrols during the tempest say damage appears to be minimal. They saw no major structural damage, but a spokesman for Cairns Regional Council Mayor Val Schier said they expect to find more in the morning. 6.43am El-Arish resident Paul Osbourne said the winds were the most extreme he’s ever experienced, and described the walls of his brick home vibrating around him. “It was just full on spray, you couldn’t tell in what direction the wind was coming from,” he told AAP. He said trees were going down everywhere and branches were cleanly ripped off by gusts the bureau has put as high as 290km/h. “It was unbelievable, trees were coming down and hitting the roof, there was this incredible noise,” he said. 6.52am Joseph from Lowry, 25km south of Innisfail, told ABC Radio the view from his house is “total devastation”. His neighbour across the road has lost his roof. Sonya, from Tully, stayed with relatives, and said they went through a “very frightening night”. A neighbour in the apartment above bunkered down with them after the roof above him was ripped off. The roof of the senior citizens’ hall nearby is also gone. Sonya said she is “dreading going around the corner” to see what her own house looks like. …
