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SYDNEY: Australia issued an alert for a large swathe of its popular east coast tourist area on Thursday with Tropical Cyclone Ului expected to hit over the weekend.
The cyclone watch was announced for about 800 kilometres of Great Barrier Reef coastline, a day after hundreds of tourists and residents started evacuating two islands.
"Damaging winds should develop between Cardwell and Yeppoon during Saturday as the cyclone approaches the coast," the weather bureau warned.
"People between Cardwell and Yeppoon should consider what action they will need to take if the cyclone threat increases."
Ului, which is gusting up to 205 kilometres per hour at its centre, was about 1,000 kilometres off the coast and expected to hit on Sunday morning, the bureau said.
It comes after Cyclone Tomas battered parts of Fiji, sending thousands of people fleeing. Officials said half the buildings in affected areas may have been damaged or destroyed, although the full extent of the destruction has not been confirmed.
Ului is on course to strike near Australia's Whitsunday Islands tourism hotspot and could also affect one of the country's key agricultural areas. The region has already been hit by flooding caused by heavy rains.
- AFP/sc
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