Cyclone Hamish remains off Qld coast

The odds of cyclone Hamish crossing the Queensland coast have lengthened to a one in
twenty chance, but the violent storm will prevent the rescue of three trawlermen for
at least a day.
A distress signal was received about 10am on Monday from a 20-metre trawler about
220km off the coast of Rockhampton.
The Australian Defence Force was sending a C-130 Hercules on Monday afternoon to
help find the missing trawler, but it is expected the three men on board will not be
rescued before Tuesday.
"They will be able to drop a life raft and supplies, but they won't be able to pick
them up out of the water," Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) spokeswoman
Tracey Jiggins said.
At 4pm (AEST) on Monday, the cyclone was estimated to be 255km east of Yeppoon and
245km north-northeast of Bundaberg, moving southeast at 17km/h.
North Queensland ports and all rail lines have reopened, but a cyclone warning
remains current for the area between Yeppoon and Hervey Bay and the area further
south to Tewantin is on cyclone watch.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there was only a five per cent chance of the cyclone
- which was rated category four on Monday afternoon but due to be downgraded to
category three by 10pm (AEST) - crossing the coast.
Skeleton crews of workers remain on evacuated Lady Elliot, Fraser and Heron islands.
Emergency services are advising people living in coastal areas likely to be affected
by tidal flooding to take measures to protect their property.
Queensland weather bureau director Jim Davidson said the threat of cyclone Hamish
would linger until Wednesday.
"There's only about a five per cent chance now that the cyclone will move back
towards the coast," he said.
"So, as time goes on, we're getting increasingly confident that it will maintain a
southeast track and not directly threaten the Queensland coast."
He said it was expected Hamish would be downgraded to a category two by 10am (AEST)
on Tuesday, but such cyclones could still be dangerous if they changed direction,
which remained a possibility.
He said only about 10-20mm of rain was now forecast for Brisbane areas, whereas the
cyclone would have brought a deluge of up to 300mm.
But large south-easterly swells and possible tidal flooding are expected between
Proserpine and Yeppoon.
Premier Anna Bligh, who took a break from the election campaign on Monday to get a
briefing on the cyclone, urged people not to be complacent.
"These are very unpredictable events," she said.