Severe tropical cyclone threatens Queensland’s northern coast: AIR

The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued an advisory Wednesday that a severe tropical cyclone was threatening Queensland’s northern coast.

Classified as a Category 3 storm, BOM reported Wednesday night (Australia time) that Ita was about 630 km northeast of Cooktown, Queensland, notes a statement from catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide. It was expected to make landfall along a sparsely populated stretch of the Queensland coast, which will serve to mitigate losses.

Bringing with it wind gusts of 220 km/h, AIR Worldwide notes that Ita was moving west with a forward speed of 19 km/h toward Queensland’s Cape York peninsula. Heavy rains were expected to begin in northern coastal portions of Queensland as early as Thursday night.

“Ita poses a significant threat to communities along the far north Queensland coast,” notes the BOM bulletin. It is expected to make landfall late on Friday as a Severe Category 4 Tropical Cylone “with very destructive winds near the core, and gales extending some distance from the landfall location.”

Ita is the most severe cyclone to threaten Queensland since Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011, which caused serious damage to the region south of Cairns.  

AIR Worldwide reports that at Category 3 or 4 wind speeds, damage is expected to be significant, particularly to older structures. Structural damage to houses and buildings may occur, especially to rooftops, while windows and cladding on engineered structures could be damaged by impact from debris.

That said, for structures that have been built to code, “the structural building practices and requirements set down by the code will help mitigate the effects of high winds and associated debris,” the statement adds.

“By late Thursday, April 10, Ita may inflict gale force winds (63 km/h to 87 km/h) between Coen and Cooktown,” Jason Butke, principal scientist with AIR Worldwide, says in the statement. After the storm intensifies further on Friday, “high winds are anticipated to threaten the far northern Queensland coast between Cape Grenville and Cairns, with the most destructive winds expected after 4 pm AEST.”

In addition, Butke says, sea level is anticipated to rise significantly above normal tide height between Cape Grenville and Cairns. Coupled with the storm’s high winds and heavy rains, this “may result in damaging waves, strong currents and flooding of low-lying areas. Flash flooding is also expected in the region due to heavy rain,” he adds.

Citing coastal residents between Cape Sidmouth and Cape Tribulation, BOM recommends that people living in areas likely to be affected by this flooding should take measures to protect their property as much as possible. They should also be prepared to follow instructions regarding evacuation of the area if advised to do so by the authorities.

“Very heavy rain, which may lead to flash flooding, is expected to develop about the Peninsula and North Tropical Coast and Tablelands districts late on Thursday and persist into the weekend,” the bulletin adds.