Cyclone Debbie To Hit Australian Coast, 3,500 Evacuated
More than 3,500 Australian residents have been evacuated from the Queensland coast as a Cyclone named Debbie is expected to hit the coast with the winds up to 300km/hr. Many have avoided the threat even after destructive warning.
According to Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Debbie is categorized as #4 system and will make a landfall in state early on Tuesday anywhere in the 265 km zone from Townsville to Proserpine. A high tide with waves up to 8m is expected with the cyclone.
State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk compared the situation to Cyclone Yasi in 2011, which destroyed homes, shredded crops and devastated island resorts. “This window of opportunity to leave is drastically closing,” she told a press conference on Monday.
“I am just pleading to everyone, please, listen to authorities. I do, you must as well. This is about your safety, it is about the safety of your family and the safety of your children” she said.
Various schools, education centre and two ports have been closed after the threat announcement.
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart has pleaded people to leave safely before it gets too late. He also said, “At some time later today, the weather event in that area, in the warning area, will get to an extent where all emergency services will not be able to respond to calls for assistance, because obviously, we have got to maintain the safety of our staff,”
It is not just about people, animals in the zoo or home are also being protected with safety measures.
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