Ului threat passes but eye now on floods

Cyclone Ului had vented much of its fury before striking the north Queensland coast,
yet still packed enough punch to rip roofs off scores of homes, drive boats ashore
and cut power to thousands of properties
Ului, packing winds of up to 200 kilometres an hour, slammed into the Whitsundays -
where it sucked airconditioners out of walls - and then stormed across the nearby
coast at Airlie Beach around 1.30am (AEST) on Sunday.
Miraculously there have been no reports of injuries although the State Emergency
Service (SES) has received more than 750 calls for help.
About a dozen boats moored at the Whitsundays Sailing Club in Airlie Beach were
dumped onto rocks and at least six homes lost their roofs in the Proserpine area.
Lucky Proserpine resident Clarence Van Der Wolf said he was relaxing in front of his
television when he began hearing "strange noises".
"It started blowing and blowing and I heard this noise rumble rumble rumble, bump
bump bump, it was the roof coming off and I said 'we've got to get out, I didn't
know if the whole place was going to come down," he told AAP.
He and his wife Irma took refuge underneath the high-set house before scrambling to
safety.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said it appeared that the region had escaped
catastrophic damage.
"Early indications show this has been a significant event, we're seeing moderate and
very severe damage in some pockets," she told reporters in Brisbane before setting
off on a tour of the affected region.
"Most of what we've been hearing is from major population centres - Proserpine and
Mackay - so damage to some of the more remote islands, damage to rural properties is
still unknown."
Ms Bligh said some island residents had a pretty hairy time overnight.
"Some of the islands have seen airconditioners sucked out of the walls. That's the
force of the wind that came through, so I think they've had a pretty scary night."
Ms Bligh and Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts arrived in Proserpine on
Sunday afternoon.
They enacted disaster relief funding, with $170 now available per person or up to
$780 per family, to be used for emergency accommodation and food.
Meanwhile, helicopters are checking the condition of power lines with 55,000 homes
and businesses without power.
The focus now is on the flood risk from heavy rain associated with the cyclone.
The Pioneer River is expected to bring only minor flooding to Mackay on Sunday
afternoon, despite falls of up to 452mm in the region in 24 hours.
"There's major flooding around Finch Hatton on Cattle Creek," said Ian Rocca at the
Bureau of Meteorology flood warning centre.
"The floodwaters will reach Mackay during Sunday afternoon but they're not expected
to exceed minor flood level."
There's also a flood warning out for coastal rivers and streams between Bowen and
Yeppoon - on the coast near Rockhampton - the Connors and Isaac rivers and their
tributaries.
Emergency crews are being sent from Cairns and were due to arrive later on Sunday.
Ului has been downgraded to a rain depression and is hovering over mining towns west
of Proserpine, it is expected to cross into the Northern Territory late on Monday.