CANBERRA - Australia evacuated thousands of people from its north-east coast yesterday as a cyclone rivalling Hurricane Katrina bore down on tourism towns and rural communities, with officials saying it could even threaten areas deep inland that were ruined by floods last month.
Mines, rail lines and coal ports were closed in Queensland state as Cyclone Yasi headed towards the coast. Up to a third of Australia's sugar crop was also under threat, officials said.
More than 400,000 people live in the cyclone's expected path, including the cities of Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, which are also main tourist areas and take in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
"This storm is huge and life threatening," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said, warning the system was intensifying and picking up speed on its path from the Coral Sea, with destructive winds expected this morning.
Cyclone Yasi is expected to generate winds of up to 280 kmh when it hits the northern coast of tropical Queensland state tonight, matching the strength of Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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