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'One in three' roofs gone
By Dylan Welch and David Braithwaite
March 20, 2006 - 5:11PM
Page 1 of 3 | Single page
One in three houses have lost their roofs and at least 30 people have been hurt in the northern Queensland region where Tropical Cyclone Larry made landfall.
More than half of the houses and buildings in the small town of Innisfail, about 100km south of Cairns, suffered major damage when the category five storm hit about 4am, said Sergeant Gary Burkin of Innisfail police.
Larry has since been downgraded to category two.
"There's some buildings that have totally collapsed," Sergeant Burkin said. "It's greater than 50 per cent [damage] for housing and buildings."
About a third of houses at Innisfail - which has a population of about 8000 - had lost their roofs, said Queensland Counter Disaster and Rescue Services (CDRS) executive director Frank Pagano.
The damage was even greater at nearby Babinda, home to 1200 people, where 80 per cent of homes and 100 per cent of crops had been damaged.
The damage in Innisfail and Babinda was "absolutely huge", said Queensland Emergency Services spokeswoman Kathryn Ryan.
"There have been homes completely destroyed all over the place, the town is completely littered with debris, every tree in the place has been uprooted, there are powerlines everywhere."
There have been 30 casualties, including a fractured leg, a fractured ankle as well as minor cuts and abrasions, across Mareeba, Atherton, Innisfail and Babinda, reported the Counter Disaster Rescue Service at 3pm.
No serious injuries or missing persons were reported.
Patients at Innisfail hospital were forced to crowd into a single wing because of severe damage to the building.
Evacuation centres had been established at Innisfail for people whose homes have been destroyed or damaged.
"Thankfully most people did evacuate prior to [the cyclone] hitting and many of them are staying with friends or family," said Ms Ryan.
Cairns had escaped relatively unscathed, but the region south of Cairns, including Innisfail, appeared to have copped the brunt of the cyclone.
"We went for a drive this morning and I'd say every second building is damaged - some completely, some minor," said Johnstone Shire's State Emergency Service manager, Alan Green.
"Some have all their roofs gone, some have walls gone, awnings are gone out the front.
"Trees are in all sorts of directions that I can't understand how they got like that. I couldn't even say the damage bill at this stage but it would be very significant."...
