well, we were on holiday in airlie beach and were evacuated from our hotel on the waterfront.at another hotel slightly up the hill. it still just a couple of 100 metres from the beach. 0r just a couple of 100 metres from the beach. or we can hear is this terrifying noise, howling winds, cracking of branches, or possibly damaged houses, we don't know is we cannot see. all we can see is branches strewn about the hotel driveway. sheets of rain just moving across the sky and a bit of flooding around the hotel. we do have pictures, radar pictures, of the track of the cyclone, which is appearing right off the coast. i believe you were told to move earlier. tu have fiercely your safety? are people around you feeling safe? —— do you. safety? are people around you feeling safe? -- do you. we were not really given the option to get a bus out. although we knew some people were. it was quite late by that point, so our hotel suggested that we move to another hotel nearby and that might be easier than taking to the roads, which are dangerous. 0ne person has already died in an accident on th

popular tourist destinations like the whitsundays and airlie beach have also been evacuated.—lying areas are at risk of tidal surges and have been evacuated. it is the biggest cyclone in australia since cyclone tracy in 1974. i think i'm glad i'm going because i have been thinking it is time to go. i am happy it is time to go. well, i saw in the news that we are going to be hit more by the cyclone so i thought, no, i have to find a way. the authorities had time to prepare. sandbags were filled, schools closed, shop windows taped up, and airports shut down, in what has been a li—s—day operation. the public have been told to judge their phones as power outages are likely. the slow—moving storm is likely to hit the mainland australia soon. queenslanders will be familiar with the risk of cyclones. now all they can do is wait. caroline davies, bbc news. now, let us get an update from the situation on the ground. we are hearing that the cyclone has approached the islands off the coast, like whitsundays, very popular. amelia butterly is a reporter for bbc radio one newsbeat and join

all the roads have being cut off around bowen, airlie beach, it's going to be a huge job to clear thoseo we're asking people to stay indoors and not move until we can get emergency service personnel there. at the moment not very rainy reports of injury but having said that we know a lot of people have lost communication —— not very many. we want to make sure people are safer there. the priority will be to support the recovery, as the day progresses we will get an understanding of the damage from the storm. we have put in place enormous preparation for this storm. it's one of the great advantages of all of the technology you see around us, to be able to anticipate these events. there are well over 1000 emergency personnel and defence personnel who literally rad to go in today. our correspondent hywel griffith spent tuesday in northern queensland, as cyclone debbie swept towards land. earlier he gave us the latest from ayr, that's about 150 kilometres north of where the cyclone made landfall. the plans were really in place days if not weeks before this struck, one thing with a cyclone is

there's significant damage at airlie beach.the time last night you couldn't really see what was going on. what you've woken up what was going on. what you've woken up to now is trees strewn across the road, there's a lot of damage to the businesses on the seafront so people have had debris flying into their properties or they have had flooded from the sea surge and from water mains bursting, so there's a lot of upset people this morning. i've seen some people in tears at the loss of structure and business they'll be facing. how are people coping? you have said you have seen people in tea rs. have said you have seen people in tears. has the army arrived, has help arrived? low, as far as i can tell there's no outside help. we're still expecting the army but we're not sure when they will be arriving —— no. there's a lot of local help, people are helping each other out. i'm ata people are helping each other out. i'm at a small tourism business at the moment and they have supplied me some powerfrom their the moment and they have sup

it all went out in one go and the whole area was black —— airlie beach.o keep up with what is happening, we aren't getting any news updates on tv, lots of the mobile networks have gone down so it's difficult to get any internet even on a smart device. there's no expectation on when we will have the power restored. there's no expectation on when we will have the power restoredlj there's no expectation on when we will have the power restored. i want to... people are being advised to stay indoors, stay well away from the storm, but there is the natural curiosity often. ruc in people out and about orare curiosity often. ruc in people out and about or are they generally taking heed of the warnings and staying inside —— are you seeing. for the most part i haven't seen anyone, oui’ for the most part i haven't seen anyone, our balcony as a good view of the area, literally a few minutes ago the storm started raging again andi ago the storm started raging again and i saw two teenagers on skateboards in a supermarket car park riding around and leaping over barriers

places like bowen and airlie beach, hit very hard yesterday.is has been fatality free in the last 24 hours. there was a death on monday with somebody trying to leave the area. there is an ongoing search for two people who we re an ongoing search for two people who were ina an ongoing search for two people who were in a boat. there is a chance that they will be found, we don't know the situation. in terms of the human cost, this has passed as an incident without fatality as yet. we have airports and seaports shut down, when are they likely to resume operation? it's a dynamic picture. to northern queensland, places like hands and townsville, they are without problems at the moment. places like mackay and rockhampton, trying to get to airlie beach will be difficult for a few days. even if the rain has stopped, you need to ensure that things are structurally 0k. the ensure that things are structurally ok. the whitsundays has been sold as a paradise, so the effect on tourism will be palpable. thank you very much for that updates. you've been watchin

all the roads have been cut off around bowen, airlie beach, proserpine.g to be a huge job to clear those roads, so he we are asking people to stay indoors and not move until we can actually get our emergency personnel there. at the moment, not many reports of injury, but, having said that, we still know that a lot of people have lost communications, so we want to make sure that everyone is safe there. the priority will be to support the recovery. as the day progresses we will get an understanding of the damage from the storm. we have put in place enormous preparation for this storm. it's one of the great advantages of all the technology you see around us to be able to anticipate these events. there are well over thousand emergency personnel and defence personnel who are literally ready to go in today. our correspondent, hywel griffith, spent tuesday in northern queensland, as cyclone debbie swept towards land. hejoins me now from ayr, that's about 150 kilometres north of where the cyclone made landfall. thank you very much for your time. what is the exten

speaking to us from airlie beach on the queensland coast.raq has admitted that coalition forces were probably involved in the deaths of civilians during the fight to recapture the iraqi city of mosul from the so—called islamic state. general stephen townsend said an investigation had begun, but also suggested that the militants could be to blame. 0ur middle east editorjeremy bowen is with the iraqi army as it advances into mosul from where he sent this report. mosul is being broken by war to smash the ambition of islamic state. we drove through the streets taken back from is in the last few days. the jihadists seized mosul in 2014, posing as the liberators of sunni muslims. instead, they imposed a nightmare. and trying to end it, mohammad was 50 metres from an is sniper. translation: it is a street battle. we advanced in teams from house to house. the enemy is very aggressive, using snipers and car bombs. fighting in a built—up area is the toughestjob a soldier can do. casualties are inevitable. mosul is a big city, which makes it worse. bot

soon you will see the wind and rain, which have seen some footage from airlie beach before, that is thestorm. it will be completely dead. everyone will think it is over. that will last about three hours, because the eye of the storm is about 100 kilometres wide, it is so, so huge. so we are expecting that when the eye crosses over, for about three hours, it will be completely dead and steel, then the other side, the really destructive side. —— still. that is when we are really going to know just how severe that is when we are really going to knowjust how severe this storm is and just how much damage it will cause. and then it moves into the recovery phase. we know that in airlie where we are at the moment, we are staying in the emergency building with the emergency response team, and we have emergency workers that has been flown in from other regions, and they are ready to move into places up and down the coast that have been affected. it will be a massive recovery effort. the last timei a massive recovery effort. the last time i was in a cyclone like this of this intensity it literally

if we go in more closely on the map of queensland, cyclone debbie came in on airlie beach. 25,000 peoplewho stayed we re warned to evacuate. those who stayed were warned to keep indoors. when you look at this, it is not hard to see why. the storm has been downgraded to a tropical low, but many people still in lockdown. up untilan hourago, many people still in lockdown. up until an hour ago, the authorities we re until an hour ago, the authorities were also. but this is the latest statement from the authorities.|j statement from the authorities.” think what we need to brace for, this is a very destructive storm and storm system. i think the public and community of queensland need to understand we will get lots of reports of damage and sadly, i think we will also receive more reports of injuries, if not death and we need to be prepared for that. we will keep you up—to—date. next, sexual harassment in india and some surveys suggest over 80% of indian women have experienced it in one form or another. it has a number of ideas to combat the problem. it is called anti—romeos squads. these offic

popular tourist destinations like the whitsundays and airlie beach have also been affected.peeds hit 260 kilometres per hour, here. 30,000 people were told to evacuate from low—lying areas. it is the biggest cyclone in australia since cyclone tracy in 1974. —— biggest evacuation. i think i'm glad i'm going because i have been thinking it is time to go. so yeah. i'm happy to go. well, i saw in the news that ayr's going to be hit more by the cyclone, so i thought, no, i have to find a way. the authorities had time to prepare. sandbags were filled, schools closed, shop windows taped up, and airports shut down, in what has been a four to five day operation. the public have been told to charge their phones. power outages are likely. the slow—moving storm is likely to hit the mainland australia soon. queenslanders will be familiar with the risk of cyclones. now all they can do is wait. caroline davies, bbc news. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith is in the town of ayr, a town in lockdown as residents prepared for the worst. this is the centre of ayr. it is one of the counter will be

at airlie beach, normally a picture postcard scene, a bbcjournalist on holiday found herself at the centreying all through the air. trees are starting to be ripped up now and there's a huge amount of water flying through the air. it's notjust falling as rain now, it's a big mass of mist and sea, kind of, breeze coming over. even when these winds have died down, there will be another, longer lasting, problem to deal with — flooding. with two feet worth of rain expected to fall in 2a hours in some places, it means some communities could be cut off for days. the emergency services have been in lockdown, unable to respond to calls until the cyclone passes. they know the hardest days are ahead. this is a very destructive storm and storm system and 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 that we will also receive more reports of injuries, if not deaths, and we need to be prepared for that. for those who have sought shelter, there will be uncomfortable nights ahead, too. sarah bromley from essex h

it is impossible to get there orfurther down, to airlie beach.ally know what disruption as them. so far, just one report of an injury, ofa man far, just one report of an injury, of a man in an area called prosepine, where the wind moved in and is now study to dissipate. but people are being warned that this is not over yet. they will remain in their homes and shops will remain closed, i would their homes and shops will remain closed, iwould imagine, their homes and shops will remain closed, i would imagine, for some days. electricity, about 50,000 people are without it in the area. they are in for a long week even after cyclone debbie has done worse. thank you very much. a bit disconcerting to see him there. it is lovely to get an update. because i'm not sure, as was said that, we we re very i'm not sure, as was said that, we were very much concerned overnight that it could be very terrible, but so far, only one person has been injured. so in terms of the damage to human lives, it is not as bad as many good it could have been. and i love this sto

at airlie beach, normally a picture postcard scene, a bbcjournalist on holiday found herself at the centre are starting to be ripped up now and there's a huge amount of water flying through the air. it's notjust falling as rain now, it's a big mass of mist and sea, kind of, breeze coming over. even when these winds have died down, there will be another, longer lasting, problem to deal with — flooding. with two feet worth of rain expected to fall in 2a hours in some places, it means some communities could be cut off for days. the emergency services have been in lockdown, unable to respond to calls until the cyclone passes. they know the hardest days are ahead. this is a very destructive storm and storm system and 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 that we will also receive more reports of injuries, if not deaths, and we need to be prepared for that. for those who have sought shelter, there will be uncomfortable nights ahead, too. sarah bromley from essex has managed to let her family know

popular tourist resorts like here in airlie beach and the whitsundays have also been hit. 30,000 people because i‘d been sort of thinking i could stay, so i‘m happy to go. well, i saw it in the news that airlie was going to be hit more with the cyclone, so i thought — i have to find a way. authorities had time to prepare. sandbags have been filled. schools have been closed. shop windows boarded up and airports shut down in what has been a four to five day operation. the public had been told to charge their phones. power outages have already affected some towns. the slow—moving storm is expected to last for many hours and cause major damage. queenslanders will be familiar with the risk of cyclones. now all they can do is wait. let us catch up with the weather. nothing so dramatic on our shores. let‘s ta ke nothing so dramatic on our shores. let‘s take a look at the latest satellite sequence. it shows low cloud, fog lingering worked on into the morning. western areas have seen cloud thickening, bringing rain. there will be persistent rain in northern ireland, following on with a line of s