Yasi

After the floods of the last few weeks, northern Australia has just experienced another major natural hazard: a tropical cyclone.

Cyclone YASI made landfall along the Cassowary Coast yesterday, and was thought to be the worst storm to hit Australia for over 100 years. Forward planning and evacuation measures were put in place, and there were also centres set up for those people who were unable to leave in time. Although there has been some dramatic structural damage to many homes and other buildings, and damage to infrastructure and vegetation, there seems to have been only a minor storm surge.

It was very useful that ABC AUSTRALIA removed the geographical block on their programmes being visible via their website. This meant that I could watch the live coverage through the 'night' (or afternoon as it was here) and gather more useful material relating to the preparations that were in hand for the storm.

There are some ideas and resources that Anne Greaves and I were able to create for the GA WEBSITE as a way of exploring cyclones in general, and this one in particular.
Currently, there seem to have been few, if any, fatalities, which always makes for a more palatable case study...
The final track of the storm was, as always, crucial in determining its overall impact. It is currently weakening as it moves inland...
Image from radar site

Image from BBC weather showing the storm approaching Australia

Comparison image from Brisbane Times
Live streaming on the ABC News website - very helpful resource

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