Cyclone Ului crossed the Queensland coast near Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, north of Mackay, packing winds of more than 200-kilometres-an-hour. As boats washed ashore at Shute Harbour, and about 60,000 homes were blacked out across the region, the State Emergency Service (SES) has taken more than 750 calls for help. Extra SES crews will be sent to north Queensland to help with the clean-up following the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Ului. Council work crews have now started the massive clean-up and extra SES crews are coming in from Townsville and Brisbane.

About 55,000 homes lost power so restoring power will take some time. Ergon Energy spokesman Bob Pleash says crews are still assessing the damage. The localized flooding is not the current priority, with about 20 houses damaged by the flooding, most of the calls taken were about fallen trees.

“Getting the homes with trees on them as safe as possible is the priority”, says Mackay SES controller Justin Englert.

Mackay Airport remained closed as officials assessed the damage, but nearby Hamilton Island (which had been lashed by gale force winds) did not seem to have experienced any damage to boats at the Marina.

Mackay Mayor Col Meng has asked for more SES volunteers for the region over the next week to help relieve staff.