Cyclone Yasi to hit Queensland :

Australia evacuates coastal cities

AUSTRALIA: Australia evacuated northeast coastal cities Tuesday as a cyclone rivalling the strength of Hurricane Katrina bore down on tourism, sugar and coal mining areas and threatened areas already devastated by floods far inland.

Cyclone Yasi is expected to generate winds of up to 280 kph when it hits the Queensland state coast early on Thursday (2pm Wednesday, GMT), matching the strength of Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005.

With a strong monsoon feeding Yasi's 650 km-wide front, the storm was also expected to maintain its intensity long after crossing the coast and could sweep inland as far as the outback mining city of Mt Isa.

"This storm is huge and life threatening," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told reporters, warning the storm was intensifying and picking up speed on its path from the Coral Sea, and destructive gales would begin from Wednesday morning.

Queensland, which accounts for about a fifth of Australia's economy and 90 percent of steelmaking coal exports worth about$20.4 billion, has had a cruel summer, with floods having swept the eastern seaboard over the past month, killing 35 people. "There's no time for complacency," said Mike Brunker, mayor of the Whitsunday area which is known for its islands resorts close to the Great Barrier Reef. Reuters