Flood-weary Australians flee Cyclone Yasi

Flood-weary Australians flee Cyclone Yasi

Thousands of people in northeastern Austrialia fled from the path of Cyclone Yasi, which officials warned Tuesday would cause widespread damage in a state still suffering from massive floods.

Hospitals in the tourist gateway of Cairns emptied as military evacuation flights ferried the ill and elderly to safety far south from a long stretch of Queensland state’s tropical coast. Residents packed onto extra commercial flights added to allow them to leave.






Evening in Cairns, Queensland, Australia


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The Cairns airport was scheduled to close Wednesday as Cyclone Yasi approaches.

Cyclone Yasi was forecast to hit the coast late Wednesday or early Thursday with wind gusts of around 155 miles per hour, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Forecasters said up to three feet of rain could fall on some coastal communities. Many parts of Queensland state are already saturated from months of flooding, though the worst floods hit areas hundreds of miles farther south of the towns in the immediate path of Yasi. Still, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said residents up and down the coast needed to prepare.

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