Cyclone Jasper makes landfall on Australia’s eastern coast

A man cycles past a fallen tree in Cairns, north Queensland. Pic/AP

Powerful winds began uprooting trees on the northeast Australian coast on Wednesday as Tropical Cyclone Jasper gathered strength while approaching the area.

Jasper is forecast to intensify from a category 1 to category 2 storm on a 5-tier scale before it becomes the first cyclone of the current season to cross the Australian coast late Wednesday, Queensland state Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.

The cyclone is expected to cross the Queensland coast somewhere along a sparsely populated 200 km stretch from the city of Cairns north to Hope Vale, an Aboriginal community of 1,000. Jasper is expected to lash the coast with winds of up to 140 kmph as it crosses from the Coral Sea.

"This is a serious event and it has been some time since this part of the coast has seen a cyclone of this intensity," Miles said. Over 90 people left their homes for evacuation centers by Wednesday.

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