Australia's northeast braces for double cyclone hit

[WorldNews]

By James Regan SYDNEY (Reuters) - A pair of tropical cyclones was bearing down on northeastern Australia on Thursday and emergency officials warned residents to take shelter ahead of torrential rain and flooding, destructive winds and massive seas. Cyclone Marcia off the northeast coast of Queensland state is forecast to dump 300 mm of rain in the next 24 hours, with wind gusts up to 90 kph (55 mph), making it possibly the most destructive cyclone to hit Queensland since 2013. "Our message to Queenslanders is start getting ready now," said state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. The Port of Gladstone, Queensland's biggest multi-commodity port handling much of the state's coal, alumina, bauxite and natural gas shipments, said it was monitoring Marcia's movement and following procedures in place to deal with storms.

 

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