Australian authorities approved an order forcing people to evacuate their homes yesterday as a tropical cyclone bore down on the Great Barrier Reef, threatening to intensify before making landfall.
The Queensland state government issued a disaster declaration for areas in the path of Tropical Cyclone Ului, which appeared to be gathering force as it closed in on Australia’s popular northeast tourist coast, bringing wild storms.
“Some properties may need to be evacuated in the coming hours as Tropical Cyclone Ului approaches and then crosses the north Queensland coast,” said state Premier Anna Bligh.
“The declaration gives emergency services agencies the power of mandatory evacuations if required.”
Ului was 365km from shore late yesterday, and forecasters said it was expected to hit the coast before dawn on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and damaging winds before weakening inland.
Winds of up to 170kph were expected on the some islands and coastal areas.
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