AYR, AUSTRALIA // A “monster” cyclone smashed into north-east Australia on Tuesday, cutting power, damaging buildings and uprooting trees, with coastal towns in lockdown as residents battled lashing rain and howling winds.
Great Barrier Reef islands popular with foreign tourists were battered by the category four storm which hit the coast of Queensland state with destructive wind gusts of up to 270 kph near its broad core.
There were fears the storm’s arrival would coincide with early morning high tides and cause severe flooding, but it slowed before crossing the coastline between the towns of Bowen and Airlie Beach in the early afternoon.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who called the storm a “monster” that would last for hours, said at least 30,000 homes were without power with communications down in many areas.
The effects of the storm, which was downgraded to a still powerful category three as it moved over land, were felt across a huge swathe of coast that would span the distance between London and Berlin, although not all areas were badly hit.
“It felt like we were underneath a freight train for most of the night, strong bass rumbles as the ... wind rattled past and made the buildings shake,” Cameron Berkman, who is holidaying on Hayman Island, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Queensland politician Mark Ryan said it was also chaotic at Airlie Beach, the mainland holiday gateway to the Whitsunday islands.
“Trees down in Airlie Beach and reports of windows shattering and some roofs starting to cave in,” he tweeted.
Queensland police commissioner Ian Stewart said there was “certainly structural damage” and at least one person had been badly injured by a collapsing wall in Proserpine, a town south of Airlie Beach.
The man’s condition stabilised after he was taken to a hospital. The extent of the damage from the storm was not known as night fell across the region.
“I think the public and the community of Queensland need to understand that we are going to get lots of reports of damage and sadly I think we will also receive more reports of injuries, if not deaths,” he said.
The bureau of meteorology, which forecast up to 50 centimetres of rain, urged people to stay calm and not be complacent as the eye of the storm passes.
“Do not venture outside if you find yourself in the eye of the cyclone — very destructive winds from a different direction could resume at any time,” it said.
“People in the path of the very dangerous cyclone should stay calm and remain in a secure shelter.”
Conditions have prevented emergency services getting a better picture of the damage which will become clearer at first light on Wednesday. The federal government was on standby to provide assistance in the aftermath, including with navy helicopters and planes.
Residents, who sandbagged and boarded up homes, were told to prepare for the worst weather to pummel the state since Cyclone Yasi in 2011, which ripped houses from their foundations and devastated crops.
Yasi, which struck less populated areas, caused damage estimated at Australian $1.4 billion (Dh3.9bn). Debbie has officially been declared a catastrophe by the Insurance Council of Australia, allowing them to prioritise claims from the disaster.
Some 3,500 people were evacuated between the towns of Home Hill and Proserpine, around 100 kilometres south of Townsville, a tourist hotspot and access point to the Great Barrier Reef.
Another 2,000 people in Bowen also moved, officials said, with cyclone shelters available for those with nowhere else to go. Up to 25,000 more in low-lying parts of Mackay headed to higher ground.
In the small town of Ayr, the main shopping street was deserted with buildings boarded up.
Farmer Anthony Quirk’s main concern was for his 150 hectares of mung beans.
“If it comes through here it will be over. It will lay flat on the ground, we won’t be harvesting, we will have no crops left,” he said.
“It means we start from scratch again. All the money down the drain. That is not good.”
* Agence France-Presse, with additional reporting from Associated Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
More on Quran memorisation:
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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Company%20Profile
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The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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