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World|life|March 29, 2017 / 09:18 AM
Army assesses damage after storm 'absolutely smashes' north Australia

AKIPRESS.COM - Australia's army and emergency workers headed to areas of tropical Queensland state hardest hit by Cyclone Debbie on Wednesday, finding roads blocked by fallen trees, sugarcane fields flattened and widespread damage in coastal towns.

No deaths were reported after Debbie tore a trail of destruction through Australia's northeast on Tuesday as a category four storm, one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level, before being gradually downgraded to a tropical low.

Thousands of people took shelter as tourist resorts along the world-famous Great Barrier Reef and coastal areas were belted with wind gusts stronger than 260 km per hour (160 mph), Reuters reported. They woke to streets filled with debris.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters at the Crisis Coordination Centre in Canberra: "Nature has flung her worst at the people of Queensland. There will be ... a lot of damage done now to recover, to clean up, to restore power, to make power lines safe."

More than 63,000 people were without electricity. Hundreds of hectares of sugarcane crops had been flattened, Dan Galligan, chief executive of industry body Canegrowers, said in a statement.

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