TC ULUI and TOMAS – UPDATE Mar 17
Posted by feww on March 17, 2010
ULUI Goes to Australia
Two for the price of one cyclone!
See also:
Cyclone ULUI: Enough Fuel to Land in Australia
TC ULUI is moving slowly (6 km/hr) toward the east coast of Australia (Queensland).
Two of the available models (NGP and CMC) suggest ULUI could make landfall close to 20ºS latitude which could mean it will strike the Australian coast as a cat 3A or 2B hurricane on the FEWW New Hurricane Scale with sustained winds of up to 180 km/hr (gusts of up to 230 km/hr).
A third model (GFS) predicts landfall south of the 20ºS latitude, which might suggest a Category 1 hurricane force, or weaker, with sustained winds of up to 150km/hr (wind gusts of about 180 km/hr).
JTWC suggest land fall south of 21.5ºS latitude with sustained winds of up to 120 km/hr (wind gusts of about 155 km/hr).
ULUI is currently located about 1,320km NORTHEAST of Townsville, and 1,300km NNE of Rockhampton, QLD, Australia.
Moderators’ forecast concurs closer with the CMC model, for now.
Dynamic Model Forecasts. Source CIMSS. Click Images to enlarge.
Tropical Cyclone ULUI showing near-perfect longitudinal symmetry – Visible image – MTSAT 1R – Dated March 17, 2010 at 00:00UTC. Source: Digital Typhoon. Click image to enlarge.
Two for the price of one cyclone!
Cyclone TOMAS is still going strong with sustained winds of about 220 km/hr and gusts of up to 260 km/hr. Its currently located near 26.3S, 176.5W.
TCs ULUI and TOMAS – Visible image – MTSAT EAST (NOAA)
Other Images and Animations
Related Links:
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feww said
Fiji cyclone damage overwhelming, leader says
By PITA LIGAIULA (AP) – 1 hour ago
SUVA, Fiji — The South Pacific island nation of Fiji has suffered overwhelming damage from a powerful cyclone that battered its shores for more than three days, the prime minister said Wednesday as relief operations were launched in the country’s northern regions.
Fiji sent naval patrol boats laden with supplies and support staff sailing for the northern islands that bore the full brunt of the storm, while Australian and New Zealand air force planes began airlifting emergency supplies to the island group.
Only one death has been reported, but the full extent of the damage has yet to be determined because communications to the hardest hit areas were cut off for days.
“It is evident that wherever (Cyclone) Tomas has struck, the damage has been overwhelming,” Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Fiji’s prime minister and military chief, said Wednesday as the first reports began to roll in.
Cyclone Tomas, packing winds of up to 130 mph (205 kph) at its center and gusts of up to 175 mph (280 kph), started hitting Fiji late Friday. It blasted through the northern Lau and Lomaiviti island groups and the northern coast of the second biggest island, Vanua Levu, before losing strength as it moved out to sea Wednesday, the nation’s weather office said.
Matt Boterhoven, senior forecaster at Fiji’s Tropical Cyclone Center, said “the good news is it’s accelerating away from Fiji … and weakening in the cooler waters.”
All storm and strong wind warnings for Fiji have been canceled, he said. Earlier sea surges of up to 23 feet (7 meters) were reported in the Lau island group, which was hit head-on by the cyclone, causing major flooding. The surges would take at least 36 hours to subside, he said.
A nationwide curfew was lifted Wednesday, but a state of emergency will remain in effect for 30 days in the country’s northern and eastern divisions. There were no immediate reports of tourists being caught in the cyclone and flights resumed Tuesday into the international airport at Nadi, on the main island of Viti Levu.
National Disaster Management Office spokesman Anthony Blake said power, water, sewage and other services were disrupted in many northern areas, with all airstrips and airports closed and storm surges smashing into coastal villages and schools. More than 17,000 people were in 240 government shelters, he said.
Troops have been deployed to provide relief, including food, water and basic supplies.
Bainimarama has appealed for international assistance and on Wednesday Hercules cargo planes from Australia and New Zealand flew to Fiji with relief supplies, including tarpaulins, food and water treatment tablets.
The planes were later to carry out reconnaissance work and damage assessment.
“It appears that after the initial reconnaissance work’s undertaken … it’ll be necessary to fly some supplies from Nadi or Suva to the affected areas,” New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully told National Radio. He later announced initial cash aid of $700,000.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith pledged $1 million dollars in initial aid, adding that, “Australia will consider further assistance for reconstruction once damage has been more fully assessed.”
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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