Cyclone Ului hits Queensland

Cyclone Ului hit northern Queensland with winds gusting to 200kph (124mph) yesterday, damaging houses and sugar cane plantations and triggering power blackouts, Bloomberg reports.

The cyclone “caused significant damage to infrastructure as well as delivering large amounts of rain and flash flooding,” Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland, whose responsibilities include emergency management and response, said.

About 60,000 homes suffered power blackouts, said Anna Bligh, Queensland state premier. There were no reports of injuries.

The stretch of coastline where the cyclone landed is about 1,000km north of Queensland’s capital, Brisbane.

It includes key coal ports, which were closed as the cyclone approached last week, and sugar cane plantations that generate about A$2bn in annual revenue.