INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Australia's east coast has been pummelled by heavy rain in recent days
Australian authorities have issued a warning about a powerful cyclone that is tracking towards the coast of Queensland
Cyclone Owen is moving slowly over waters off the Northern Territory with winds of up to 200km/h (124mph), meteorologists said.It is
expected to intensify into a category four system before making landfall sometime early on Saturday local time (late on Friday
GMT).Residents have been urged to stay safe."Owen will wreak havoc across our state and come down the east coast," Premier Annastacia
Palaszczuk told the Seven network on Friday.Emergency services have sent dozens of extra personnel to towns along the expected path of the
"Tonight, bed down and stay safe, take your medication with you, a torch and make sure you have a really good idea of a place of safety,"
state disaster co-ordinator Bob Gee said.Forecasters predict the cyclone will travel from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Queensland's east
coast, bringing destructive winds inland for hundreds of kilometres."Cyclone Owen is now likely to cross the Queensland coast on the western
Cape York Peninsula later than initially anticipated, most likely early Saturday morning before moving in a southeasterly direction, rapidly
weakening over land," Richard Wardle of the Bureau of Meteorology said
"While the system will weaken to a low over land, damaging to destructive winds will continue for several hundred kilometres inland as will
areas of very heavy rainfall near the low," he explained
The bureau said a flood watch remained for the area extending from the Gulf of Carpentaria and southern Cape York Peninsula to coastal
catchments from Cape Tribulation to Rainbow Beach
The coastal stretch includes popular tourist destinations of Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton, many of which are gateways to the Great
Parts of the state were likely to receive up to 400mm of rain in coming days, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.Authorities warned
that flash-flooding and storm surges were also expected, urging residents to secure items and stay indoors.The cyclone is forecast to be
downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves inland, but could redevelop into a cyclone on Monday.Australia frequently experiences extreme
weather with flash floods, sandstorms and droughts in some areas.Last month, Queensland was hit by destructive bushfires which forced the
evacuation of thousands of people.
