Australia alarm at the highest cyclone in it's history

Australia 300 000 people evacuated coastal cities northeast of the territory at a time when the advance a cyclone with a force similar to that of Hurricane Katrina affects tourism, the sugar industry and coal mining.
Authorities warned that the phenomenon could affect areas within the left hemisphere ruined by the floods last month.
Mines, railroads and coal ports remained closed in the state of Queensland, while the cyclone "Yasi" approached the coast. The cyclone could threatening nearly a third of the sugar harvest State, said an industry official. "This storm is enormous and threaten lives," said Prime Minister of Queensland, Anna Bligh, warning that "Yasi" is strengthening and accelerating in advance from the Coral Sea. Cyclone "Yasi" could generate winds of up to 280 kilometers per hour and heavy rain when it hits the coastal state of Queensland in recent times today, with a force similar to that of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. city of New Orleans 2005. Over 400 thousand people live in the area where expected to pass the cyclone, which includes cities such as Cairns, Townsville and Mackay. These are in turn the main tourist areas and are home to the Great Barrier Reef. Military helicopters evacuated about 250 patients Cairns hospital. Queensland, which represents about a fifth of the Australian economy and 90% of its coal exports for the manufacture of steel, carries most of a cruel summer, with floods that washed away the coastline last month, leaving about 35 dead.