Cyclone Yasi upgraded to Category 5 - cities evacuated, "catastrophic"

[MiamiHeat]

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/north-queensland-braces-for-cyclone-anthony-as-cyclone-yasi-brews-behind-it/story-fn7ik2te-1225997552623
Queensland residents are bracing for a maximum-strength, category-five storm to hit the far north of the state late Wednesday. The storm, called Cyclone Yasi, is expected to be the strongest cyclone to ever hit Australia.

Cyclone Yasi, described as a "killer, monster storm," is expected to make landfall on the Queensland coast between Cairns and Innisfail at 10 p.m. local time, reports Reuters.

The storm's strong winds, torrential rains and flooding will cause further damage to Queensland, which was only recently devastated by epic floods.

The winds could reach around 300 kilometers an hour, according to a senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, Ann Farrell.

This is so powerful even "cyclone-proof" homes may not be able to withstand the pressure.

Cairns, home to 122,000 people and a popular destination for backpackers from around the world, lies in the path of the storm, and is expected to be hit by a storm surge up to 7 feet high. The storm surge could cause flooding that may be even more dangerous than the storm's wind, according to Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

"It will be a display of the awesome power of nature but it's not something you want to go outside and watch," she said, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Bligh urged people in low-lying areas to evacuate, and thousands have already fled their homes, BBC News reports. Hospitals have flown patients from Cairns in the north further south to Brisbane.

More than 400,000 people live in the storm's expected path. The stretch, popular with tourists, includes the Great Barrier Reef.

One resident has chosen to bunker down and stay in his home in order to Tweet the storm, according to the Australian. Carl Butcher, a 26-year-old IT specialist and amateur weather observer, will give first-hand reports of the storm via his Twitter handle @cycloneupdate.

"I'm going to be right in the thick of it," he said.

[BlackSwordsMan]

jeez

[MiamiHeat]

"Don't panic if your roof lifts off" :lol :lol

[MiamiHeat]

here is how big the storm is :

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/02/02/1225998/819572-tc-yasi.jpg

300 km/hour winds skullfucking the entire US mainland.

[The Reckoning]

i hope oz is ruffandready

[benefactor]

I was going to post something about it this morning. What an impressive looking storm.

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/mtsat/flt/t1/ir4.jpg

The conditions are near perfect as the storm heads towards land so there is very little chance of it weakening. The could be very, very bad.

[TDMVPDPOY]

reminds me the day after tommarow with 3 huge ass storms

[Cry Havoc]

That's an impressive hurricane. Reminiscent of Mitch from 1998.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Hurricane_Mitch_1998_oct_26_2028Z.jpg/536px-Hurricane_Mitch_1998_oct_26_2028Z.jpg

[Cry Havoc]

Dvorak at 6.5. Not exceptionally high for a Cat 5 storm, but still, she's going to wreak absolute havoc on the mainland of AU. That's stronger than any landfalling hurricane we've had since Andrew, I believe. 922 mb was his strength as he hit Florida as well.

Eyewall is only a couple of hours from shore. Scary.


here is how big the storm is :

300 km/hour winds skullfucking the entire US mainland.

Have you ever seen pictures of Typhoon Tip?

[Cry Havoc]

http://www.bom.gov.au/gms/IDE00005.201102021230.gif

Manny, where the f* are you!?

[RandomGuy]

here is how big the storm is :

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/02/02/1225998/819572-tc-yasi.jpg

300 km/hour winds skullfucking the entire US mainland.

So used to seeing hurricaines moving counter-clockwise. That clockwise spin just looks wrong.

[benefactor]

Landfall was just after 0800 our time. Gusts expected to reach 186mph.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_australia_storm

[desflood]

Sorry, Australia. We'll miss you terribly and think of you often.

[DieMrBond]

Watching the live coverage from the west coast of AUS at the moment... scary shit. Hope the north east coasters are okay.

Freaking 500kms wide, with 300kms per hour winds. Sheesh.

Who the hell pissed off the gods in Queensland? First floods, now this?

[MB20]

A 26 years old man stayed at home to tweet the storm...wtf!!! "cycloneupdate"

[MannyIsGod]

Impressive storm. Sucks for Queensland.

[MiamiHeat]

I am hoping a ton of YouTube videos pop up of people who recorded being in the storm

[boutons_deux]

God sends Australia drought, floods, Cat5 cyclones because of all the poofters down there.

-- Pat Robertson

[Viva Las Espuelas]

I am hoping a ton of YouTube videos pop up of people who recorded being in the storm
I think the only tubes they're concerned about now are inner.

[DarkReign]

Thats what you get for banning violent video games. Mother Nature believes in freedom of expression, bitches.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Man doesn't know how to use power.

[phxspurfan]

The guy's twitter (http://twitter.com/cycloneupdate) pics don't show a ton of damage. I've seen storms do worse than that in normal NorCal winters (which are not at all harsh). In the video he even says they dodged a bullet.

[phxspurfan]

The guy's twitter (http://twitter.com/cycloneupdate) pics don't show a ton of damage. I've seen storms do worse than that in normal NorCal winters (which are not at all harsh). In the video he even says they dodged a bullet.

[Das Texan]

here is how big the storm is :

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/02/02/1225998/819572-tc-yasi.jpg

300 km/hour winds skullfucking the entire US mainland.



oh good, san antonio might miss the harshest part of that storm.

[Sisk]

God sends Australia drought, floods, Cat5 cyclones because of all the poofters down there.

-- Pat Robertson

Shut
The
Fuck
Up

[DieMrBond]

Does 'Pat Robertson' (Whoever the hell that is) not realise there are a heap more gays/lesbians/homosexuals/etc in America, merely due to the difference in population?

There are like 21 something million people in Australia... compared to over 307 million americans?

Even if the ENTIRE population of Australia were gay (not that theres anything wrong with that), there would probably still be more gays in America.

[Sisk]

Does 'Pat Robertson' (Whoever the hell that is) not realise there are a heap more gays/lesbians/homosexuals/etc in America, merely due to the difference in population?

There are like 21 something million people in Australia... compared to over 307 million americans?

Even if the ENTIRE population of Australia were gay (not that theres anything wrong with that), there would probably still be more gays in America.

Are you trying to tell us something?

[FalleNxWiZarDx]

where can i donate money toward a relief?? plz post links

[DieMrBond]

Are you trying to tell us something?

Yes, that Pat Robertson is an idiot ;)

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Yasi severely damaged some small coastal towns (esp Mission Bay and Tully), wiped out a lot of agriculture (particularly bananas and sugar cane) and took down the electricity network, but no deaths is remarkable. We're very fortunate it didn't hit a major population centre like Cairns or Townsville. I feel for the poor farmers who were just getting back on their feet after Cyclone Larry... but if you live in the tropics, I guess you have to expect periodic cyclones.

I was in a Cat 5 once - Typhoon Maemi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Maemi
My girlfriend and I went out in it just to feel the force of it. We were on the edge, but it was still formidable.

Also been through the eye of a cat 3 - eerily quiet, blue sky, stuff strewn everywhere - then 45 minutes later the back wall hit us.

[Gutter92]

Luckily for them its just a cyclone...

If it was a hurricane of that size? :depressed