Cyclone rips off roofs, flings boats onto land in northeast Australia

TOWNSVILLE, Australia — Residents of Australia’s cyclone-battered tropical northeast emerged from their homes on Wednesday to find roofs lying in their yards, boats flung onto rocks and roads blocked by tangles of fallen trees and power lines, as emergency officials tried to reach communities cut off by the powerful storm.

Cyclone Debbie, which slammed into the coast of Queensland state on Tuesday with winds up to 160 miles an hour, weakened quickly as it moved inland and was downgraded to a tropical low by Wednesday morning.

Australia’s military sent vehicles, aircraft and supplies to the region, and cleanup efforts were expected to begin later Wednesday. Around 60,000 houses were without power, and several communities remained isolated with no access to communications.

There were no reports of deaths from the storm. One man was injured after a wall collapsed in the town of Proserpine, Stewart said. He was in stable condition.