Australians flee, jam shelters ahead of "catastrophic" cyclone

[tabatha]

(Reuters) - Thousands of residents fled their homes and crammed into shelters in northeastern Australia as a cyclone described as the most powerful in the country's history and with a 650 km (400 mile) wide front barreled toward the coastline on Wednesday.

"We are facing a storm of catastrophic proportions," Queensland state premier Anna Bligh said after Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to a maximum-strength category five storm.

It is expected to hit the coast on Wednesday evening, packing winds in excess of 280 km (175 miles) per hour. The weather bureau predicted it would be the strongest ever to hit Australia, Sky TV reported.

"All aspects of this cyclone are going to be terrifying and potentially very very damaging," Bligh added, noting the greatest threat to life could come from storm surges along the coast with the system due to hit when the tide is high.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/idINIndia-54576720110201?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Reuters+India&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINworldNews+%28News+%2F+IN+%2F+World+News%29

[Frisbee]

1. Holy crap!

That thing is half the size of the continent! We are really starting to see the effects of climate change, and it is scary as Hell! I suspect it is only going to become more extreme as time goes on.

[AlecBGreen]

2. occurring @ high tide?

thats NOT good... IIRC most fatalities and property damage come not from the high winds but the surging sea level that spreads inland. I hope our Aussie brothers & sisters make it through this better than New Orleans :(

[kestrel91316]

3. Be afraid. Be very afraid. And GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT COAST.

[Paper Roses]

4. Just looking at that shot scares me. Here I am facing just a

little blizzard with 2 feet of snow. This white stuff is nothing in comparison. Good thoughts your way, Australia. Keep safe.

[Odin2005]

5. That is a gunormous storm!

:wow:

[Dover]

6. Bloody hell!!! I can't imagine NOT evacuating after getting a load of that image!

It looks like a monster hurricane. What's the difference between cyclones and hurricanes?

[BadgerKid]

7. No difference; just hemisphere in which they occur, IIRC. n/t

[Mister Ed]

8. Apparently they cut it even finer than that with the official definitions

* "hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E)
* "typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline)
* "severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)
* "severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean)
* "tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A1.html

[BadgerKid]

9. Ah. Forgot about 'typhoon'.

Thanks for the link!

[Nihil]

10. Interesting article giving people a bit of scale ...

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/how-cyclone-yasi-compares-around-the-world/story-fn7ik2te-1225998762870

... :wow: ... just :wow: ...