Cyclone Hamish Weakens as It Moves Closer to Australian Coast

There is at least a little bit of good news in what is assuredly overall a bad news story for the people living in Queensland that will be affected by this storm:

CYCLONE Hamish evacuations have been put on hold amid predictions the weakening cyclone may hold its path parallel to the coast.

Currently situated around 210km northeast of Yeppoon and travelling south at 10km/h, Hamish still poses a threat to exposed coastal and island communities between Yeppoon and Hervey Bay.
However, an emergency services spokeswoman said all evacuations had been put on hold.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has warned resident in low-lying areas to be prepared for flooding.
 
“Some places like Hervey Bay are particularly low-lying and, therefore, have considerable higher risk,” Ms Bligh told Channel 9.

“Good news overnight that we’ve seen a slight movement in the tracking for this cyclone, the prospect of it crossing the coast is a little less than it was yesterday.

“But … these are very unpredictable events and they can change at short notice and we’re monitoring it very carefully.”

Forecasters are tipping Hamish to weaken to a category three cyclone by this afternoon and hold its path out to sea.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says the cyclone is expected to maintain a southeastern track parallel to the coast during the next 24 hours and slowly weaken.

Major centres such as Townsville and Mackay were taken off the cyclone watch at the weekend as Hamish moved steadily southeast, stalking the coastline without threatening to turn towards land.

Coastal towns north of Rockhampton received heavy rain and strong winds without any reports of major damage.

But forecasters fear that Hamish will turn towards Hervey Bay, where it will cross the coast as a category-three storm.

And local authorities say they do not want residents in low-lying areas to remain in their homes. [The Courier-Mail]