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From: Steve Nelson (steve0707{at}gmail.com)
Date: Wed Mar 16 2005 - 01:52:39 EST
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?
id=2005031522090002321423&dt=20050315220900&w=RTR&coview=
SYDNEY, March 16 (Reuters) - A remote tourist resort was virtually
destroyed and a small aboriginal town damaged on Wednesday when a
severe cyclone slammed into the northern Australian coast for the
third time, officials said.
Cyclone Ingrid, packing winds of up to 260 kmh (162 mph), hit the
tiny town and aboriginal reserve of Kalumburu, about 500 km (310
miles) southwest of the Northern Territory capital of Darwin, and
then devastated the exclusive Faraway Bay resort.
"The main building, the actual frames, I mean they are massive logs,
they are still there but everything else is gone," resort owner Bruce
Ellison told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
"All the workshop, all the staff quarters, all the cabins, they're
all gone," said Ellison. The A$595 ($470) -a-night resort is
accessible only by air and accommodates a maximum of 12 people in
small cabins.
Local media said two staff members at the resort were missing but
police said no injuries had been reported.
Police said power lines and trees were torn down at Kalumburu. There
were no reports of serious damage but it was still too early for
residents and authorities to leave shelter to properly assess the
damage, they said.
" ... last night was rather horrific for all the people up here at
Kalumburu ... quite scary and quite noisy," said Kalumburu police
sergeant Gary Sparks.
He said the winds gradually built through the night until they
reached their peak very early on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for the Western Australia Fire and Emergency Services
Authority said helicopters were on standby to fly emergency supplies
into Kalumburu, home to about 350 people,
Ingrid has menaced sparsely populated areas of Australia's north for
more than a week and at times has been one of the most powerful
storms to threaten Australia in a generation.
It became a top category five storm over the Pacific Ocean last week
before it weakened as it crossed Cape York Peninsula in the
northeast.
Ingrid then reintensified as it moved west across the Gulf of
Carpentaria and battered the Tiwi islands north of Darwin, uprooting
trees, ripping off roofs and cutting communications.
The cyclone then moved into the Timor Sea and gathered strength again
as communities in the north of Western Australia state were placed on
alert. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said Ingrid was still rated
as a severe category three cyclone as it slowly moved southwest away
from Kalumburu and other settlements. The bureau said heavy rain
could cause flooding of low-lying areas in the region.
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