Queenslanders are beginning to clean up the trail of destruction left by Cyclone Yasi which ripped through the state’s coastal communities causing the death of one person.
Soldiers, police and emergency workers have been brought into the region to help with the clean up.
The category five storm lifted boats from harbours, flattened dozens of homes and ripped roofs off many more, leaving debris strewn across a huge area.
The destructive power of Cyclone Yasi: pics
Police confirmed the death of a 23-year-old man who was suffocated by fumes from a generator as he sheltered from the storm.
Another two people remain unaccounted for.
State Premier Anna Bligh said there could be “some sad news in the next couple of days” as rescue work progressed.
Power and water supplies remain cut with some 7,000 people still sheltering in evacuation centres.
Officials have appealed for calm while rescuers try to reach residents in the cut off towns of Mission Beach and Cardwell.
“We do understand that many people in the highly-impacted areas are getting anxious about the level of support and contact they are able to have with emergency authorities,” Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said.
“We just ask them to be patient. But there have been significant difficulties in terms of access. Roads are cut… there is heavy debris on many.”
