• Dave Hunt / EPA

    Greville Blank surveys his destroyed home and debris in the devastation left by Cyclone Yasi in the far north Queensland seaside township of Tully Heads, Australia on Friday, Feb. 4.

    Troops prepare to aid cyclone relief in Australia

    By Elena Grothe

    The AP reports:

    CARDWELL, Australia — Australia marshaled 4,000 troops and sent a supply ship with tons of food to its cyclone-stricken northeast coast Friday, as awe-struck residents in wrecked towns confronted debris that included boats tossed into yards.

    Authorities confirmed the first death from the storm that slammed into the coast early Thursday and said a search was under way for two missing people.

    Cyclone Yasi flattened dozens of homes and ripped roofs and walls from dozens more. It cut power supplies in two regional cities and laid waste to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of banana and sugar cane crops.

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    "Yasi! That's my baby!"

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  • Australians scramble for shelter as Cyclone Yasi approaches

    Dave Hunt / EPA

    Pool chairs are sunk for safety at a hotel in Cairns, north Queensland, Australia on Feb. 2. Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, now a maximum-force Category Five storm, has increased speed and is due to make landfall on the night of Feb. 2 between Cairns and Innisfail.

    Tim Wimborne / Reuters

    A hand painted board protects the front window of a cafe in the northern Australian city of Cairns on Feb 2.

    Tim Wimborne / Reuters

    Local resident Selwyn Hughes sits with his children outside an emergency cyclone shelter after it was declared full and the gate locked in the northern Australian city of Cairns on Feb. 2. Catagory five Cyclone Yasi, expected to be the most powerful storm to cross Australia's heavily populated east coast in generations, is expected to make landfall late on Wednesday night.

    Torsten Blackwood / AFP - Getty Images

    Christie Nugent brings her beloved 14-year-old dog 'Scruffy' to an emergency evacuation centre as potentially catastrophic cyclone approaches Innisfail on Feb. 2.

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    One of the most powerful cyclones in Australia's history is bearing down on a string of popular tourist cities lining the Queensland coast.

    The first major gusts hit the coast as frightened residents and backpackers scrambled to find safe havens with just hours before Cyclone Yasi delivers its full wrath.

    "This is a cyclone of savagery and intensity," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a news conference. "People are facing some really dreadful hours in front of them."

    Full story here.