Tropical cyclone Yasi roared ashore on the coast of Queensland last night, causing widespread damage to property and knocking out power throughout the region.
Although the damages from the wind, the rain and the high tides are severe, no deaths or serious injuries have been reported.
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, the storm “strengthened on Wednesday to Category 5 on the Australian cyclone scale, which translates to a strong Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.”
Wind speeds of 300 kph (190 mph) were initially recorded, but as Yasi passed over land its strength diminished. It was also a huge cyclone, and “remains a large, asymmetric storm, with damaging winds extending outward 450 km [281 miles] on the east side and 250 km [156 miles] on the west,” AIR reported
It began crossing the “stretch of coast between Innisfail and Cardwell at midnight Wednesday local time, bringing intense winds and battering waves. The storm made the expected southwestward turn in the hours prior to landfall, sparing Cairns, a city of over 150,000, from significant damage.”
According to AIR, “residences constructed after 1975 were designed for wind speeds of 250 km/h in building codes, while homes built after 2002 had design speeds of 265 km/h. Based on experience from recent storms, building code enforcement has been found to be quite stringent, but there is no prior experience to indicate how buildings will respond to Yasi’s forecast wind speeds.”
Sources: news reports and AIR Worldwide
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