TOWNSVILLE, Australia — Thousands of people began evacuating low-lying areas of Australia’s tropical northeast on Monday as a powerful cyclone bore down on the coast. The cyclone was churning over the Pacific Ocean as a Category 3 storm on Monday, with wind gusts up to 165 kilometers per hour (100 mph). It was expected to intensify to a Category 4 storm with wind gusts up to 260 kph per hour (160 mph) when it crosses on to land, Paech said. She said the farming region had never experienced a storm stronger than Category 2, which packs wind gusts of between 125 and 164 kph (78 and 102 mph). Older homes would not withstand a Category 4 storm, Palaszczuk said.

Source: Washington Post March 27, 2017 01:30 UTC