Cyclone Debbie kills one and leaves man injured by collapsing wall as 160mph winds lash Aussie holiday hotspots and force Brits to flee
Officials confirm one man badly hurt when a wall collapsed on him while one female tourist was killed in car crash yesterday
WINDS of up to 160mph battered Australia's east coast as "monster" Cyclone Debbie left tens of thousands without power.
Miraculously, only one serious injury was reported last night as the storm tore up the coast of Queensland.
Among those badly affected were resorts serving tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef.
But as PM Malcolm Turnbull said he was rolling out the country's disaster response plan, other authorities warned there is more to come as it was declared a "catastrophe".
Queensland police chief Ian Stewart said: "We are going to get lots of reports of damage, and sadly I think we will also receive reports of injuries, if not death."
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Police said one man was badly hurt when a wall collapsed on him in Queensland.
One 31-year-old woman has already been killed in a car crash caused by the extreme weather, officials said.
The state's Premier Annastacia Paluszczuk called the storm a "one in 100 year event" as it was revealed 45,000 homes are now without power.
Pictures from the coast showed extensive damage as Category Four gusts ripped up trees and destroyed boats in their moorings.
Aussie Jan Clifford told Reuters "It's very noisy: Screaming, howling wind ... sounds like a freight train."
Tales of recklessness and bravery began to emerge this morning as the winds started to ease.
One kitesurfer was filmed tackling the cyclone-hit waters off Bowen, Queensland.
While one kind Aussie woman braved the deadly winds to save a battered cockatoo clinging on for dear life in the ferocious gusts of Debbie's eye.
Alix Sweeney, caring for the bird in her hotel room, told the Townsville Bulletin: "There was a whole group of cockatoos sitting way up in the trees just clinging on during the gale-force winds.
“I went back and got a towel from the hotel and picked it up"
Yesterday more than 25,000 Queenslanders were told to evacuate in the face of the deadly storm before it made landfall.
Among those were scores of Brit backpackers on their travels Down Under - with some admitting they feared for their lives.
English tourists Katie Gathercole, 22, and Becky Veater, 24, in Bowen told The Cairns Post they were “praying for their lives”.
Gathercole said: “I’m genuinely scared.
“We’ve never had to brace for a natural disaster like this and now some backpackers can’t get into these cyclone shelters. It is very unsettling.’’
Another traveller, Sophie Gorman, 24, from Wales, told the BBC: “Some local has just offered us her queen-sized bed.
"I've also heard if it gets really bad, the army will come to get us."
But a London couple face heartbreak as the huge 60-mile-wide storm threatens to ruin their dream Oz wedding.
Stacey Wright and Simon Robinson flew to Australia and had paid to fly 25 friends and family over.
But their ceremony on the paradise Hamilton Island looked in doubt yesterday after most of them were cancelled.
Yet despite the approaching storm, Stacey still found time for a joke.
She told 9News: “There were a few tears to say the least. The best man is having a bit of a giggle about it now.
"He was there to witness Cyclone Stacey when she found out.
“It's been a couple of stressful days. We came over and have been sitting tight on the Gold Coast.
“We had it all booked and have about 25 people coming up from various cities around Australia, and then we got the text message about cancelled flights on Sunday.”
Now they reckon they could end up tying the knot in an Aussie surfers’ club instead.
Stacey added: “We'd love to have it somewhere nice but with everything tied up we just wouldn't be able to afford it.”
Authorities have been busy boarding up properties and filling sandbags ahead of expected landfall at 10pm UK time.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: "This is going to be a nasty cyclone.
"These wind gusts are going to be absolutely huge and my primary concern is making sure that families are safe."
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