Cyclone Yasi Batters Towns Along Australia’s Northeast Coast

Tropical Cyclone Yasi slammed into Australia’s northeast coast early today with winds stronger than Hurricane Katrina, ripping apart houses and cutting a swath through sugarcane crops, though no deaths have been reported.

Yasi hit shore as a Category 5 cyclone at Mission Beach, a resort town of about 3,000 people 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) north of Brisbane, the Bureau of Meteorology said. The death and destruction authorities had feared was minimized as the larger cities of Cairns and Townsville escaped the brunt of the storm.