Cyclone Yasi swept boats ashore at Hinchinbrook Marina in Cardwell. Photo: Paul Crock
- Hundreds of homes damaged
- Boats thrown around like toys
- Yasi downgraded to category one storm
- Fears for two missing people
Two people have been reported missing after Cyclone Yasi passed through north Queensland last night, it was confirmed this evening.
Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, who is Queensland's state disaster co-ordinator, said the two males were missing from the Innisfail/Cardwell area.
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Yasi hits north Queensland
The interior of home damaged by Cyclone Yasi in Tully. Photo: Jonathan Wood
However, he stopped short of saying police held grave concerns for their safety.
"Much of the mobile telephony is damaged and we are hopeful that with the restoration of those services we will be able to locate them," Mr Stewart said.
He said many people reported loved ones as missing persons during the floods in the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley areas because they were unable to contact them.
Mr Stewart said police would make normal enquiries through friends, relatives and neighbours.
"What we believe is we will undertake our enquiries and, hopefully, we will locate them alive and safe somewhere," he said.
There were still no reports of serious injuries, Mr Stewart said.
Earlier, Premier Anna Bligh is refusing to rule out the prospect of cyclone fatalities, with access to small towns in Yasi's path still restricted.
Aerial images of Cardwell today revealed the cyclone's power; boats piled up along the devastated town's foreshore, sitting on top of each other and most damaged beyond repair.
Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts told Fairfax Radio 4BC the cyclone's force was so great that some boats in Cardwell were found two blocks inland.
With the already damaged roads into town now flooded, there has been no chance for evacuated residents to return today. Authorities remain concerned for 100 people who ignored orders yesterday to flee.
Ms Blight was due to fly into Cardwell this afternoon via helicopter after earlier touring the regional centre of Townsville.
‘‘It’s been totally remarkable to me as I drive through and see the size of trees that were brought down in this event that we don’t have massive structural damage here in Townsville," she said.
‘‘And even more remarkable when I see some of the damage and hear about some of the damage in some of the smaller towns,’’ Ms Bligh told reports outside Townsville’s Mundingburra police station.
‘‘There’s a lot of old homes but we, at this stage, don’t have any reports of serious injuries and fatalities but I stress there are still places we haven’t had emergency workers in to.
‘‘Even in some of these towns we’re out and about checking homes and it’s too early to rule out we might have some sad news in the next couple of days.
‘‘But what we know is we didn’t see a mass loss of life in evacuation centres so that’s a great relief.’’
Fatalities in Cardwell could not be ruled out, Cassowary Coast mayor Bill Shannon said.
‘‘It’s our greatest concern,’’ he said.
A helicopter searched for stranded people, also scouring the region seeking the cause of power outages.
Cardwell has no power and Cr Shannon said people should boil water for drinking.
Police officers were stationed in the town for the cyclone and firies have been trying to force their way in.
‘‘That’s the weak link at the moment, what’s happening in Cardwell,’’ Cr Shannon said.
At Port Hinchinbrook, about 70 boats were destroyed or badly damaged with some reportedly lifted out of the water during the gusts and dumped on land two metres from the foreshore.
Mr Roberts said initial aerial surveillance suggested 60 properties in Cardwell had experienced major damage.
A further 100 properties sustained medium-level damage and 50 had minor damage.
In other areas, Mr Roberts said Mission Beach had 22 properties with major structural damage, Tully Heads 21 plus another 19 with medium damage and 12 with minor damage.
“I do want to stress, however, that this is aerial surveillance and until we get people on the ground making assessments property by property, they are preliminary assessments,” Mr Roberts told reporters early this afternoon.
“But I think that does give an indication that there is quite significant structural damage to properties, particularly in the area where the cyclone crossed the coast.”
He said authorities still had not been able to enter the communities of Silkwood, Halifax, Lucinda and Taylors Beach.
Yasi downgraded as it heads towards Mt Isa
Damaging winds and possible flash flooding were expected in and around Mt Isa, despite Cyclone Yasi being downgraded to a category one by the Bureau of Meteorology.
The bureau said Yasi was moving west southwest at 40kmh, and put residents near the Northern Territory border and at Mt Isa on notice for damaging wind gusts and heavy rain.
Mr Roberts said flash flooding was still a concern in certain areas as the cyclone powered on, although he said Yasi was weakening.
‘‘But it’ll still be quite a significant storm in Mt Isa later tonight,’’ he told Sky News.
The bureau’s 2.14pm bulletin cancelled an earlier cyclone warning from Cardwell to Ayr and inland to Charters Towers.
Mt Isa Disaster District Co-ordinator Ray Pringle said authorities were worried people living in the northwest of Queensland would be complacent about the risk from the cyclone.
“Complacency’s a big issue for us,” Superintendent Pringle said.
“This is normally our wet season. The extraordinary thing about this weather system is that it’s coming across with cyclonic level conditions, which is slightly different to our normal wet system.
He called on locals to pay attention to weather updates and plan ahead for heavy winds and rising waters.
Today, debris and fallen powerlines caused traffic jams along the Bruce Highway as evacuated north Queenslanders attempted to return to their houses.
The north Queensland town of Tully is a scene of mass devastation with roofs torn from houses and power poles knocked over by the powerful cyclone.
An Ergon Energy spokesman said 167,787 customers remained without power this evening.
Power was restored to more than 12,000 properties in the Burdekin/Whitsunday areas today, but weather conditions prevented crews from inspecting many of the affected areas, he said.
with AAP and Reuters
Affected residents can register with authorities and concerned friends or relatives can make enquiries on 1300 993 191; international callers phone +61 7 3055 6220.
