Cyclone Yasi - Deaths: 0. Births: 3

Well the strongest part of Cyclone Yasi has come and gone, though it is still due to hit Mt Isa (which is not is not a "Cyclone hardened" town) as a force 1 cyclone around about now. And so far there are no reports of deaths or injury, but 3 children were born during the storm - One of them in an evacuation centre.

There was a lot of property damage in the centre of the area it hit with hundreds of homes destroyed or very badly damaged, roofs ripped off, boats piled on top of each other, cars crushed by fallen trees, and tree trunks, branches and foliage everywhere. Fortunately the speed at which the cyclone was moving reduced a bit just before it hit which meant that arrived a bit after high tide, and because of that the storm surge wasn't as high as initially predicted. It also seemed to help that the buildings that were built in the past few years to new specifications (and those that survived Cyclone Larry in 2006) withstood the battering well, and the big towns of Cairns and Townsville survived pretty well.

Over 170,000 homes lost power but the main electricity transmission line held up.

 Hinchinbrook Marina in Cardwell
Photo: Sydney Morning Herald

Here is a selection of photos showing the results of the cyclone.