Cyclone Hamish Strengthens, Destroyed Sugar Field Threatens Australian Resort Islands

March 8 -- Tropical Cyclone Hamish, upgraded to a Category 5 storm, now poses “a very significant threat” to tourist islands in Australia’s Queensland state and may flood northern coastal communities, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The state government has invoked powers to evacuate people from the path of the cyclone and warned people to be prepared to flee their homes at short notice.

The cyclone, with winds as high as 295 kilometers (183 miles) an hour, was heading southeast parallel to Queensland’s coast, threatening islands along the Great Barrier Reef with “destructive winds,” the weather bureau said today.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has placed the army on standby and is considering postponing the state election campaign to deal with the crisis, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported on its Web site today.

Forecasters say the storm is as powerful as Cyclone Larry, which caused widespread destruction when it made landfall in Queensland in 2006, according to the ABC. The cyclone destroyed homes and sugar fields and wiped out much of the nation’s A$350 million ($224 million) banana industry.

Strong winds and high seas prompted the evacuation of South Molle and Long Island resorts and Hayman and Hamilton islands are in lockdown with residents and tourists sheltering from the storm in the largest hotels, the ABC said.

Hamish was estimated to be 145 kilometers east-northeast of Hayman Island at 7:53 a.m. local time today, heading south- southeast at 17 kilometers an hour, the weather bureau said. The eye of the storm isn’t forecast to hit the coast.

“Destructive winds are expected to affect coastal and island communities between the Whitsunday Islands and Yeppoon,” the bureau said.

‘Destructive Core’

The Whitsundays, a string of 74 tropical islands bordered by the Great Barrier Reef, should be spared the “very destructive core of the cyclone,” according to the bureau’s advisory.

Sea levels are expected to rise as the storm moves southeast and large waves may produce flooding in mainland coastal communities, it said. Heavy rain may cause rivers to flood.

Queensland accounts for about 95 percent of sugar production in Australia. Much of the sugar cane is grown in coastal regions. The state is also home to coal and base metal mines.

Heavy rain in northern Queensland in recent months caused flooding that may cut sugar output as much as 15 percent in 2009, CSR Ltd., the nation’s biggest sugar refiner, said last month.

source: Bloomberg