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BOM declares Cyclone Kirrily with impacts expected on Queensland’s coast and islands

Cyclone Kirrily has been declared and is expected to be felt on Queensland’s coast and islands into Thursday morning.

The cyclone is currently a category one but is expected to cross the coast as a category two system on Thursday night, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

It’s expected to make landfall between Cardwell and Bowen.

The current warning zone stretches from Lucinda to Sarina, and the watch zone from Innisfail to Lucinda.

The cyclone is expected to still develop into a category two system but is not as strong as originally forecast, BOM forecaster Patch Clapp said.

“It’s expected to be on the lower end of a category two, it’s not looking likely to move to the higher end of the category or even make a last minute push to a category three,” he said.

“But despite this, we can sometimes still see the heaviest rainfalls from these types of systems on the lower end.”

Gale strength winds are still forecast for Whitsundays overnight, with potential destructive wind gusts of up to 140km/hr expected to develop on Thursday from Cardwell to Proserpine.

“Along the coast it’s a degree of calm before the storm, around Townsville and further north it’s not quite blowing yet,” said Mr Clapp.

“It has been a really challenging environment for this system, now we can really see those gale strength winds wrapping around the system.”

Although coastal crossings in short succession are not unheard of, they are rare, Mr Clapp said.

“We did go back to 2015, we saw Marsha and Nathan about a month apart, and back in 2011 we had Anthony and severe tropical Cyclone Yasi.”

After crossing the coast it’s likely to track further inland as a tropical low bringing heavy to intense rain to parts of central and western Queensland, and is no longer expected to head south.

Evacuation centres open, schools shut
More than a hundred schools will be closed on Thursday, including 79 state schools.

Education Minister Di Farmer said that number could grow as the system approached.

“The Queensland Education Department continues to follow the advice of the Queensland Disaster Management Committee and local emergency services regarding the potential impacts of severe weather events on our communities,” she said.

“We all know that major flood events — whether riverine or flash flooding — in particular can impact on local school communities very quickly and without warning in some cases.”

Two evacuation centres are now open in Townsville, at Heatley Secondary College and Wills Street.

“If your home is not a safe place or you will be at risk of isolation and have no other accommodation options (family, friends, hotel) consider one of our evacuation centres,” Townsville’s local disaster management group said.

Whitsundays, Townsville, Bowen and Abbott Point ports have been closed. Vessels in those ports cannot leave their cyclone moorings until further notice.

Townsville Airport will be closed from noon on Thursday, and the airport said airlines would be “cancelling and rescheduling as necessary”.

On Wednesday, 31 staff on the QFES disaster response team arrived ahead of Kirrily making landfall.

Earlier, Townsville mayor Jenny Hill said up to 12,000 homes in Townsville could be damaged in the cyclone.

“We suspect up to 620 homes in an event like this may not be habitable … based around the age of the properties,” she said.

Police were doorknocking in the Townsville suburbs of Cungulla, Saunders Beach and Gumlow, which Ms Hill said were at risk of being cut off in heavy rain.

“If they choose to shelter in place, they may be isolated for a prolonged period of time,” Ms Hill said.

“Think about maybe moving in with some mates here in the city. If you are going to stay and shelter in place, please ensure you’ve got everything — food, fuel, water, any medical prescriptions you might need.”

The city’s Australia Day celebrations have been cancelled.

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