(CNN) Tropical Cyclone Debbie barreled down on northeast Australia Tuesday, dumping torrential rain on the region and leaving more than 50,000 homes without power. The massive storm is the most powerful since Cyclone Yasi, a Category 5 storm which tore through the region in 2011. "The ferocity of these wind speeds is actually taking roofs of houses, it's sending fences up in the sky," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told CNN. "Typically, fatalities are related to the water element, the flooding concern and the storm surge, and those are both very high right now," Javaheri said. Authorities were seeking to evacuate 25,000 people from Mackay in the lead-up to the storm, Palaszczuk told CNN.

Source: CNN March 28, 2017 07:17 UTC