'Monster' cyclone Debbie batters north-east Australia

Howling winds, heavy rain and huge seas pounded Australia's northeast on Tuesday, damaging homes, wrecking jetties and cutting power to thousands of people as Tropical Cyclone Debbie tore through the far north of Queensland.

Wind gusts stronger than 260 km per hour were recorded at tourist resorts along the world-famous Great Barrier Reef as the storm made landfall as a category four, one rung below the most dangerous wind speed level. It was later downgraded to category two. Forecasters said high winds would likely persist overnight, although the storm would then weaken rapidly and was expected to be downgraded to category one by dawn on Wednesday. Police said one man was badly hurt when a wall collapsed at Proserpine, about 900 km northwest of the Queensland capital, Brisbane, and was taken to hospital. But the weather was still too bad to assess damage fully or mount an emergency response. "We will also receive more reports of injuries, if not deaths. We need to be prepared for that," Queensland Police Commissioner said. As the storm forged slowly inland after nightfall, state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged people to stay indoors.