Sydney: Military helicopters yesterday evacuated hospital patients as authorities ordered thousands of people to flee a powerful, "life-threatening" cyclone roaring toward waterlogged northeast Australia.
Cyclone Yasi was forecast to directly hit the far northern city of Cairns late Wednesday with damaging wind gusts up to 250 kilometres per hour, the Bureau of Meteorology said. Up to a metre of rain could fall on communities in Queensland state already saturated from months of flooding.
"This storm is huge and it is life-threatening," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said. "I know many of us will feel that Queensland has already borne about as much as we can bear when it comes to disasters and storms, but more is being asked of us — and I am confident that we are able to rise to this next challenge."
More than 9,000 people in low-lying and coastal parts of Cairns have been ordered to evacuate their homes as the sea is expected to surge at least two metres and flood significant parts of the city.
Airlift
Bligh said the military would airlift 250 patients from the waterfront Cairns Base and Cairns Private hospitals to Brisbane, the state capital. Elderly care homes were also being evacuated.
Many people in the city of 164,000 were deciding on their own to leave, said Ian Stewart, the state's disaster coordinator. "In reality, we would like people to get as far south as possible, as quickly as possible, without of course breaking the rules," he told reporters. Airlines were arranging extra flights Tuesday night, with the airport due to close this morning until further notice.
