Cyclone Debbie thrashes tourist paradise Hamilton Island

Cyclone Debbie thrashes tourist paradise Hamilton Island

NEWS: goo.gl/a3kAcQ



Tourists on Hamilton and Hayman Islands are weathering the worst of Cyclone Debbie as the Category 4 storm passes over the normally idyllic tropical paradises.

The eye of the storm hit the Whitsundays on Tuesday morning, tearing roofs off buildings, branches off palm trees and cutting power to Airlie Beach.

'I have never heard gusts of wind howl this loud and this intense before,' tourist Helena Mo said from Hamilton Island. 'You can't help but worry about what's going to happen next.'





The monster storm was tracking across the Whitsundays with 190 km/h winds before it hit the mainland at Bowen after midday.



'I have to admit it's been difficult to get some sleep, even with the knowledge that we are staying in a very secure hotel,' Ms Mo told AAP.

She said she and her boyfriend moved a mattress into the bathroom around midnight, but so far they had been able to stay in the main part of their room at the Reef View Hotel.



The doors and windows in this hotel have been pretty sturdy and cyclone proof,' she said.

Shocking photos show the damage done to exclusive resort Hamilton Island with branches smashing into golf carts and yachts breaking free of moorings in the marina.

Residents in Hayman Island reported feeling wind gusts of up to 232 km/h.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned the vast size of the cyclone - the worst to hit Queensland since Yasi six years ago - means the devastating core could take three hours to pass, and people should expect to be holed up for the entire day.

'It is incredible. Honestly, it is huge,' she told the Nine network on Tuesday.



'The broad stretch of the Queensland coast that it is going to impact - it is going to be felt in a lot of communities from Townsville all the way down south to Mackay. And of course there will be the flooding events that happen afterwards.'

The premier said serious concerns were held for Bowen, which is expected to take an almost direct hit, Airlie Beach and the islands being battered so savagely as Debbie heads slowly towards the coastline.

Whitsunday Councillor Jan Clifford is sheltering at her Airlie Beach home, and offered some choice words to describe Debbie, calling the cyclone 'one mean, big b****'.

'You've got to keep your sense of humour about it, because if you don't laugh you will cry,' she told AAP as she described watching trees topple in her yard under the force of 180km/h wind gusts.

But she says she feels safe.



'The houses are built for this up here.'

The storm surge - which could inundate low-lying homes - is still expected to be significant. At Laguna Keys, south of Airlie Beach, a storm surge of 1.5 metres has already been recorded, as the tide builds toward its peak.

'This will not pass during the day. For the next 12 hours, I need families to remain safe, and remain where they are,' Ms Palaszczuk told ABC.

Power has been cut to some communities as Debbie encroaches, trees are down across the region, and some structural damage is starting to become apparent.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said Debbie's slow pace is having 'a battering ram effect'.

'These winds are going to keep pounding, pounding, pounding,' he said.

'I suspect before the day is out, we will see a lot of structural damage in the cyclone's path.'