As the system moves inland, the peak winds near the centre will begin to weaken.”. The impacts of TC Debbie … At nearby Proserpine, residents have reported “horrifying” destruction, saying several roofs had been ripped from homes. It was the strongest tropical cyclone since Cyclone Ada in 1970, almost 47 years ago, causing damage to the Whitsundays and surrounding areas before heading south, where it would caused some flooding near Rockhampton. The Insurance Council of Queensland has already declared the storm a “catastrophe”. Cyclone Debbie: Bowen, Airlie Beach and Proserpine cut off, BOM says winds still strong 29/03/2017 Australia to dismiss at least 10 soldiers over Afghan killings - ABC Cyclone Debbie, a 'monster' category four storm, landed near Airlie Beach in Queensland. Whitsundays one year after Cyclone Debbie In March of 2017 a category 4 cyclone made its way the east coast of Queensland, blowing through the Whitsunday Islands and surrounding towns. A keep left sign flies down the street after being ripped from its post in the main street of Bowen. The seawall, pontoons, and site building, near Airlie Beach, suffered extensive damage during Cyclone Debbie in 2017. Photograph: Dan Peled/EPA. Debris caused by Cyclone Debbie’s strong winds in the streets of Airlie Beach. Imminent destruction has transformed the usually buzzing streets and beaches of the state’s tourist hot spots into ghost towns as residents and visitors hole up in their houses seeking safety. Wind sounds strong.. #CycloneDebbie. Picture: Dan Peled/AAPSource:AAP. A palm tree is fallen behind a motel at Airlie Beach, Tuesday, March 28, 2017. On its way to the coast Cyclone Debbie hit the Whitsunday Islands hard, including Hayman Island and Hamilton Island with wind speeds up to 263km/h. It is forecast to make landfall between Ayr and Midge Point late this morning. AN AIRLIE Beach boatie, whose vessel was destroyed in Cyclone Debbie, stalked the case manager attempting to help him with his claim in the aftermath. While residents and visitors bunker down, some local services have been accused of ripping people off in the face of disaster. Damage was reported on the Whitsunday Islands, as strong winds lifted some roofs from houses; on Hamilton Island, sustained winds reached 191 km/h (119 mph) with gusts up to 263 km/h (163 mph) around 10:28 a.m. local time on 28 March. Airlie Beach residents Maika McDonald, 15, Lauren Squires, Karen Gordon, and Katelin Gordon, survey the damage at Shute Harbour after Cyclone Debbie. Good luck, stay safe. GROUND ZERO: Queensland town to take direct hit. Nearly 120 schools and more than 200 childcare centres were closed last night in anticipation of the storm hitting the mainland. A wind visualisation of Cyclone Debbie. Residents has been warned to take shelter in their homes rather than evacuate as road including the Bruce Highway close as the cyclone moves in. Airlie Beach: Airlie Beach saw some significant damage following the cyclone, but almost immediately began repairs. At: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mwr/aus/mwr-aus-201703.pdf. The Category 3 system made landfall shortly after 1pm near Bowen, where it was described by Premier Annastacia Paluszczuk as “ equivalent to a one in 100 year event ”. “It is so noisy, it’s like half a dozen 747 jets coming through. There are also questions about how long supplies will last. “Destructive winds” with gusts over 125km/h are occurring about the Whitsunday Islands, and will extend further to the exposed coast and islands between Ayr and Mackay later this morning, according to the BOM. Information about emergencies, disasters and disaster resilience comes from many sources. The report acknowledges the following sources: Bureau of Meteorology 2017, 'Monthly Weather Review, March 2017.' I think because of the damage with out house that’s what’s so horrifying.”, Glen and Lisa Steele are in the firing line of Cyclone Debbie at their Proserpine home... but the bananas are still hanging on! Picture: Liam Kidston.Source:News Corp Australia. Debbie formed on 18 December in the Arafura Sea, within 250 kilometres of the northern Australian coast.Debbie tracked southwest, intensifying to severe tropical cyclone strength early on 20 December. Residents between Ayr and St Lawrence are warned of a dangerous storm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast late this morning. Airlie Beach is a disaster zone where storm surge has swamped 100m into the tourist village. It’s right on top of us now and it’s stalled with winds in excess of 200km/h,” she said. The eye of the storm has hit the Whitsundays and there are reports of roofs off buildings in some parts. #TCDebbie @abcnews pic.twitter.com/ii9RlPd4LL, Nice to see some of the folks up north still have a sense of humour. At 5.30pm yesterday Debbie was still doing her best to turn Airlie Beach into a war zone. The place is just shaking continuously.”. “The doors are shaking and we’ve got venetian drapes flying out the window,” she said. “I was in room nine but the windows came in and that was it,” he said. First published on Tue 28 Mar 2017 15.22 EDT. The magnificent reef off Airlie Beach before Tropical Cyclone Debbie. We want to know where the grog it. Hotel guests have been told the cyclone’s eye could take up to three hours to pass over them. “There’s 1000 people deployed or on standby to assist, and we thank them for their courage, commitment and selfless service,” Mr Turnbull said. Cruise Whitsundays: Cruise Post Cyclone Debbie - See 3,456 traveler reviews, 1,730 candid photos, and great deals for Airlie Beach, Australia, at Tripadvisor. “People are starting to get a bit stir crazy... We definitely feel quite isolated.”, “We have a reasonable amount of bottled water and some food but not enough for days and days. All submissions will be reviewed and verified before they are added to the collections. At the height of the flooding in New South Wales, evacuation orders affected more than 30,000 people and approximately 17,000 people were isolated by flood water. Tourists on Hamilton Island are weathering the worst of Cyclone Debbie as the Category 4 cyclone passes over the normally idyllic tropical paradise. Picture: Annette DewSource:News Corp Australia. According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest warning, issued at 1pm Queensland time (2pm AEDT), the system is beginning to make landfall on mainland coast between Bowen and Airlie Beach with wind gusts potentially reaching 270km/h near the centre. Sadly, at least ten fatalities resulted from the flooding and severe weather associated with TC Debbie, and hundreds of dwellings were severely damaged by the impacts of high winds and inundation. Cyclone Debbie was officially upgraded to a Category 4 at 8pm Monday night as Airlie Beach lost power and Hamilton Island copped 178km/h wind gusts. “Large waves may also develop along the beachfront. Winds in excess of 100 km/h (62 mph) battered the island for more than 24 hours. Just witnessed the moment windows smashed to pieces in building next to us #CycloneDebbie pic.twitter.com/3jkYPeTxTB. Skip to Navigation; Skip to Content; Several areas including Airlie Beach and Bowen were in “complete lockdown” on Tuesday morning. The slow-moving cyclone is nearing landfall, but threatens to hang around for up to 18 hours before it passes. Picture: Daniel Hair/Severe WeatherSource:Supplied. Monthly Weather Review: Australia, March 2017 | Bureau of Meteorology (PDF 5.05MB). “It’s just like freight trains coming through left and right,” a Hamilton Island resident told ABC. Cyclone Debbie caused destruction at Airlie Beach - the gateway to the Whitsundays. Footage shows him walk into the water before jumping on his board through a wave. QFES issued an alert last night to “bunker down”, as teams would have limited capacity to respond until the cyclone passed. Lessons in the wake of Cyclone Debbie | Whitsunday Times. Cyclone Debbie is the largest to hit the region since Cyclone Yasi in 2014 and could cost hundreds of millions in lost tourism revenue, insurance and clean-up. news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site, worst the state has seen in at least six years. 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