Cyclone Debbie: Queensland braces for large scale disaster

Queensland is bracing for a large scale natural disaster ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Debbie, with authorities ordering evacuations, the closure of schools, ports and airports and thousands of military and emergency services personnel on alert.

Locals fill up sandbags in preparation
for Cyclone Debbie in Townsville. 

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the “very destructive core” of Debbie will hit the mainland near the northern town of Ayr as a category four cyclone early Tuesday.

The bureau said Debbie was the worst cyclone in both “size and extent” to hit Queensland since Yasi in 2011, forecasting wind gusts of up to 260km/h and flash flooding.

Read Joshua Robertson’s story on The Guardian - “Cyclone Debbie: Queensland braces for large scale disaster.”