HurricaneHunter914 wrote:Any damage reports yet?
Cyclone kills three, causes widespread damage
09Mar07
At least three people are believed to have died when category four Cyclone George slammed into Western Australia's north overnight, says Premier Alan Carpenter.
Mr Carpenter also said a number of people had been injured, some seriously, when the cyclone struck a mining construction camp about 100km south of Port Hedland.
``We have three unconfirmed fatalities at the moment,'' he told reporters.
``We also know there are a number of people who are injured, some of them severely injured.''
It's believed many of the injuries occurred when portable buildings rolled over. Earlier, emergency services said they were expecting ``lots of injuries'' and were preparing to fly rescuers to the Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) rail construction camp.
But rescue attempts were being hampered by continuing strong winds as the cyclone moved south.
WA fire and emergency services spokesman Allen Gale said earlier it was possible more than one person had died at the mining camp, where people live in transportable homes.
``It's certainly possible because they're talking about quite a degree of damage,'' he told Sky News.
``Lots of injuries ... we're expecting multiples, more than one ... five 10, 15 injuries,'' Mr Gale said.
``There's hundreds of people in these camps. We understand there's over 300 people in one of the camps, 200 people in another camp, another 300 in another camp.
``These camps are pretty well built. The community up here is very resilient and is used to storms affecting .... but to take a direct hit like this - if all the conditions come together at the wrong time then things can happen.''
Cyclone George crossed the coast east of Port Hedland about 10pm (WDT) last night, tearing off roofs, mangling fences, downing trees over power lines and cutting off power and phone services to most local towns.
The severe tropical cyclone gusted with destructive winds of up to 275km/h, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), affecting Port Hedland, South Hedland, Wedgefield and some outlying towns.
Mr Gale said rescuers were preparing to fly to the 300-person Fortescue camp, but would have to wait for conditions to ease further before making the journey in a specially designed helicopter.
Mr Gale said other camps and remote communities may also have been severely affected by the cyclone.
``There's also stations along the way as well and also isolated indigenous communities have been affected overnight,'' he told Sky News.
``There's more than just the one location that we're still trying to get information from.
``Communications are affected in some of those areas so it may take a day or so before we can get helicopters out there and actually do a total reconnaissance before we have a full picture.''
In Port Hedland, there were reports of widespread damage.
SES Port Hedland manager Derek Jones said reports of damage were just starting to come in but the full extent would not be known until conditions calmed and it was safe for crews to properly assess the stricken areas.
Homes had had roofs torn off and fences and power lines had been brought down, he said.
``We'll have teams out and about as soon as we're mobile,'' he said.
``At this stage we ask residents to stay inside until it's all clear.
The cyclone was today moving over inland parts of the Pilbara, south of Port Hedland, towards Yandeyarra and West Angeles, and the weather bureau warned destructive winds were possible.
A red alert has been issued with people in or near coastal areas of Port Hedland, Whim Creek, Pardoo, Marble Bar and Nullagine urged to move to shelter.
The weather bureau has warned wind gusts of up to 150km/h remain possible for Port Hedland during today.
Cyclone George was this morning 150km south of Port Hedland, the weather bureau said, and was expected to weaken to a category one cyclone later today.
Hundreds of people were evacuated yesterday from low lying areas of the Pilbara as West Australian communities braced for the onslaught of the powerful cyclone.
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