By Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Tourist towns along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef are bracing for a tropical cyclone set to hit the Queensland state coast on Wednesday afternoon as first winds cut power and authorities warned the weather could worsen when the storm hits land.
Tropical Cyclone Jasper was roughly 130 km (81 miles) northeast of Cairns at 11 a.m. (0100 GMT) and was expected to make landfall north of the town in the afternoon, bringing wind gusts of up to 140 kph (87 mph), large waves and the risk of life-threatening flash flooding, the bureau of meteorology said on Wednesday.
Currently a Category 1 cyclone, the lowest level, the storm could intensity to a Category 2 before it crosses the coast, the bureau added.
The cyclone is bearing down on hundreds of kilometres of far northern coastline popular with tourists looking to visit the Great Barrier Reef.
Cairns resident Rob Lattimore told ABC News all the boats had been pulled out the marina and he, his wife and two daughters were sheltering at home as the winds picked up outside.
“The girls are a little apprehensive, they’ve never seen a cyclone before, but they’re in good spirits,” he said.
More than 90 people are currently in evacuation centres and thousands are already without power according to an outage map from provider Ergon Energy.
Jasper is expected to weaken as it crosses land although authorities warn there is a moderate chance it could strengthen again next week as it crosses over the Gulf of Carpentaria and heads towards Darwin.
Australia is under the influence of the El Nino weather phenomenon this summer, which can provoke extreme weather from wildfires to tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts.
In neighbouring New South Wales, authorities warned temperatures could rise above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) as a heatwave likely to last until Friday swept across the state.
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
