'Worst Ever' Cyclone Slams Into Australia

INNISFAIL, Australia (AFP) – A terrifying top-strength cyclone slammed into Australia's populous northeast coast Thursday, with officials warning it could be one of the most lethal storms in the nation's history.

Howling winds whipped up by Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi with speeds of up to 290 kilometres (181 miles) per hour ripped off roofs, felled trees and cut power lines as the storm crossed the Queensland coast.

Yasi, the worst storm to hit the area in a century, made landfall around midnight (1400 GMT), the Bureau of Meteorology said, after the cyclone was upgraded early in the day to a category five storm from category four.

"The large destructive core of Cyclone Yasi is starting to cross the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell, with a dangerous storm tide and battering waves to the south of the cyclone centre," the bureau said in a statement.

The storm made landfall near Mission Beach, which lies in the heart of a tourism and agriculture-rich area 180 kilometres south of Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

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