SYDNEY ¨C Howling winds, heavy rain and huge seas pounded Australia¡¯s northeast Tuesday, damaging homes, wrecking jetties and cutting power to thousands of people as Tropical Cyclone Debbie tore through Queensland state¡¯s far north.
Wind gusts stronger than 260 kph (160 mph) were recorded at tourist resorts along the world-famous Great Barrier Reef as the powerful storm made landfall as a Category 4, one rung below the most dangerous wind-speed level.
It was later downgraded to a Category 3 storm. Forecasters said high winds could persist for as long as 10 hours, although it would then weaken rapidly and was expected to be downgraded to a Category 1 before dawn Wednesday.
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