East coast battens down for intense Cyclone Yasi

TENS of thousands of people have been told to prepare to flee low-lying areas in the path of monster tropical cyclone Yasi.

TENS of thousands of people have been told to prepare to flee low-lying areas in the path of monster tropical cyclone Yasi as Anna Bligh warned Queenslanders they confronted one of the most powerful storms ever to menace the eastern seaboard.

The cyclone is forecast to build into a potentially catastrophic category-four system and is so powerful it will by tomorrow lash communities along a 650km stretch of coast with 100km/h winds while still hundreds of kilometres out to sea.

Communities from the sugar town of Innisfail, 1600km north of Brisbane, to Mackay are threatened as the cyclone advances. It is predicted to slam into the coast late tomorrow or early Thursday, potentially packing 200km/h-plus winds and flooding rain.

Authorities began evacuating Hamilton Island as well as nursing homes along the coast yesterday. Daydream Island will be evacuated today.

Coal terminals were shut down at Bowen and Mackay, and ships queuing to be loaded were scattering, delivering another blow to the nation's biggest single export earner. All ports between Cairns and Mackay will close today.

Preparations for the cyclone came as engineers and hydrologists said the operators of Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam were risking public safety from more flooding because of their refusal to immediately release unneeded water from the dam.

They said the dam's capacity for flood mitigation was compromised because it was still being run strictly according to an outdated operating manual.

The manual's most recent review in November 2009 was before the Bureau of Meteorology's confirmation last year that the droughts of the El Nino weather phase were over in Queensland and had been replaced by the current intense La Nina phase with a higher probability of extreme rainfall and cyclones.

As Cyclone Yasi headed for the Queensland coast, Ms Bligh said the threat to life and property was compounded by the possibility it could trigger a tsunami-like storm surge, especially if its landfall coincided with a high tide.

"We are preparing in that Innisfail to Mackay region for potential flooding of low-lying, waterfront areas," the Premier said.

"Start to give consideration to possible relocation some time on Tuesday. If people have friends they can relocate with they need to start making plans."

Julia Gillard said last night she was receiving updates on the huge cyclone, which is tracking the path of the category-two system, tropical Cyclone Anthony, that struck the north Queensland town of Bowen on Sunday night, causing minor damage.

If Yasi intensifies as predicted, it will match the fury of Cyclone Larry, which in 2006 devastated Innisfail and surrounding communities. However, the coastal area under threat is more thickly populated and more vulnerable to ocean storm surges. More than 350,000 people live in the centres at risk, including north Queensland's largest regional city, Townsville, with a population of 180,000.

Townsville is home to one of the largest army bases and Defence said it was ready to send in troops if requested.

Last night, Yasi had intensified to category-three. The mass of swirling cloud was 1780km northeast of Townsville and advancing on the coast at about 30km/h. Category four is the second most severe rating for a tropical cyclone, with destructive winds averaging 165-225km/h, and gusting up to 279km/h.

Ms Bligh said the system could dump up to 1000mm of rain on northern and central regions of the flood-stricken state.

Authorities ordered infrastructure to be locked down and secured as much as possible.

A particular concern for the Queensland government is Abbot Point coal terminal, near Bowen, which is on the market for $1.5 billion as part of the state's privatisation program. Any damage to the port could undermine this process.

The only coal port open is Gladstone, in central Queensland, where seven ships are due to be loaded. About 50 bulk coal carriers anchored off the Dalrymple Bay terminal near Mackay put to sea to ride out the cyclone.

The Queensland Resources Council has said the flooding that has claimed more than 40 lives to date - at least 22 of them in Brisbane and the southeast over the past three weeks - would rip up to $8bn out of the economy in losses to the coal industry alone.

But that did not include the extra costs from Cyclone Yasi. In Bowen, the damage inflicted by Cyclone Anthony was minor - fallen powerlines, uprooted trees, and sunken boats.

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Mike Brunker told The Australian: "The ground is saturated. That's what worries me; we're in for big dramas. Bowen's due for its one-in-50-year cyclone and people need to be prepared."