Local government calls for people to put safety first in affected areas

SYDNEY - The aftermath of tropical Cyclone Debbie in Australia on Thursday has continued to cause chaos, with extreme weather conditions continuing throughout much of the state of Queensland.

Schools in the southeast area of the state have been closed, and employers have been told to send their workers home, as the Bureau of Meteorology is expecting a month's worth of rain to fall in the course of the day.

The two biggest cities in Queensland, the capital Brisbane, and tourist hot-spot the Gold Coast, are bracing for huge downpours, with winds clocking between 90 to 125 kilometers per hour set to hit by Thursday afternoon, with a heavy deluge of rain already falling in both areas.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has called for residents to put safety first, and to immediately retrieve their children from schools in the affected regions.

"We don't want parents and children to be on the road in 90 km/h weather or heavy rainfall," Trad said.

The naval ship HMAS Melville was due to arrive in the Whitsunday Islands later on Thursday with water, food supplies and equipment to begin repairing and rebuilding infrastructure.

Daydream Island spokesman Brenton Gibbs told Reuters the resort was unlikely to reopen before the Easter holiday period.

Marine experts fear the Great Barrier Reef, already hit by coral bleaching, could have been damaged by churning seas whipped up by the cyclone. A full assessment is likely to be some days away.

One of the main priorities for the rescue and recovery operation is the tourism hub of the Whitsunday Islands, the popular island group which includes both Hayman and Daydream Island.

Tourists have been stranded since the catastrophic weather event, with flights to get visitors and staff out of the devastated areas set to begin later this afternoon, weather permitting, as all maritime methods of transportation have been shut down due to the extreme weather conditions.

But Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on the public to not cancel planned trips to the resorts that have been hit, as the potential toll to tourism would see the cost of damages compounded upon if they were to lose even further revenue.

(China Daily 03/31/2017 page11)