Severe tropical cyclone Ita to impact far north Queensland coast
10/04/2014
The Bureau of Meteorology is warning Cape York and Tropical North Queensland residents to stay tuned for the latest warnings, and heed the advice of local emergency management authorities as severe tropical cyclone Ita tracks towards the coast.
Severe tropical cyclone Ita was upgraded to a Category 5 system Thursday afternoon (10 April) with wind gusts near the centre estimated to be near 300km/h.
Ita currently lies to the northeast of Cooktown and is expected to cross the coast between Cape Melville and Cooktown late Friday evening (11 April).
The warning zone extends from Coen in the north, to Innisfail in the south (including Cairns). Gales have now developed between Cape Melville and Cape Flannery.
While the strongest winds are focussed near the centre, the warning area for tropical cyclones of this intensity is quite broad with destructive winds, heavy rainfall possibly leading to flash flooding, and coastal inundation due to storm surge all posing a threat.
Residents in the coastal warning zone are warned of a dangerous storm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast. Tides will be significantly higher than normal, with flooding of low lying areas likely. People are urged to listen closely to the advice of local emergency management authorities.
Heavy rain is expected to develop over parts of the Peninsula, North Tropical Coast and Tablelands and the Herbert and Lower Burdekin districts in the coming days. The Bureau has issued a flood warning for coastal rivers and adjacent inland streams between Cooktown and Townsville.
The Bureau's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Brisbane operates 24/7, monitoring the situation closely and providing the latest information for emergency services, media and the community.
In preparation for increased demand in services, the Bureau has redeployed additional staff from other states to the Warning Centre in Brisbane, including tropical cyclone specialist forecasters, hydrologists and other support staff. Warning frequency has been increased to hourly updates since 2am Friday (11 April), as the cyclone approaches the coast.
By comparison severe tropical cyclone Ita is a stronger cyclone than Yasi (February 2011), which was at the lower end of the Category 5 scale, but it is much smaller in size.
