Oz's cyclone spreads misery south

The tail end of one of Australia's largest cyclones triggered wild storms and flash flooding at the other end of the country yesterday, while those in the cyclone zone picked through what was left of their homes.

The tropical low that was Cyclone Yasi tore through the northeast of the country earlier this week, and then affected the far south of Australia, where it was responsible for increasing the severity of thunderstorms over Melbourne and other large towns in Victoria state.

More than 175mm of rain fell in just a few hours overnight on Friday in some Melbourne suburbs, and winds gusting to 130km/h knocked down trees.

However, this was mild in comparison to the 290km/h gusts which had first swept over the northeast.

Many parts of Australia have suffered a summer of awful weather, including pounding rain across northeastern Queensland a few weeks ago that caused the nation's worst flooding in decades, killed 35 people and caused damage that will costs billions to repair.

Yasi ripped across the coast near Cairns on Wednesday night, tearing apart dozens of homes and damaging hundreds more, cutting power to tens of thousands of people and flattening millions of dollars of sugar cane and banana crops.

Just one death was reported in sparsely populated Queensland: that of a 23-year-old man who suffocated due to fumes from a diesel-powered generator he was using in a closed room he was sheltering in.

Residents and officials were amazed that the death toll was not higher. The storm sent waves crashing ashore two blocks into seaside communities.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said 4000 troops were being made available to help in the clean-up operation, and more than 600 police and emergency services workers were fanning out to hard-hit towns with chain saws and heavy machinery to clear downed trees and debris.

Power was gradually being restored in some areas.

Police and army personnel moved through the storm-savaged coastal town of Tully Heads yesterday, going door-to-door accounting for residents.

Officials spray-painted "No Go" as a warning on the worst-hit homes. A few houses were reduced to rubble.

A layer of brown sludge covered the ground leaving a sickening smell wafting through the community.

The massive surge of water ripped through homes, taking out walls and pushing residents belongings into other people's houses and yards.

Reporting from the cyclone's "ground zero" - Cardwell - AFP reports that smashed yachts lay stacked like matchwood near a marina, while the husk of a church, its walls sheered off, stood in ruin.

Some of the most shocking images were from the marina at Port Hinchinbrook near Cardwell, where massive yachts were hurled through the air, landing blocks away - some inside homes.

Aerial photos showed Cardwell buried in mud from the storm surge, with huge trees blocking the Bruce Highway, which passes along the thin strip of land between the ocean and the rainforest-covered mountains.

Dozens of luxury yachts, some 20m long, were smashed against each other or the shoreline, and luxury homes had been shattered.