A general view shows a damaged house after Tropical Cyclone Marcia hit the coastal town of Yeppoon in north Queensland on February 20, 2015. A powerful cyclone roared ashore in a heavily-populated area of Australia on February 20 with authorities warning of a "calamity" and residents told to expect "a harrowing and terrifying experience".SHELLY ALLSOP/AFP / Getty Images
Two powerful cyclones smashed into northern Australia on Friday, knocking out power to thousands, tearing roofs and doors off houses and prompting coastal residents to flee their homes, but appeared to have spared the region's earlier predictions of a "calamity."
The twin storms, dubbed the "cyclone sandwich" by locals, struck within hours of each other, about 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) apart. Cyclone Lam hit a sparsely populated stretch of the Northern Territory, while the more powerful and potentially dangerous Cyclone Marcia crossed over small towns along the east coast of Queensland state, packing wind gusts up to 285 kilometres (180 miles) an hour.
Rail lines to coastal ports, an essential part of Queensland's A$280 billion ($218 billion) commodities export-driven economy, were brought to a standstill.
Despite the storms' ferocious winds and drenching rains, no injuries had been reported by Friday afternoon, and both systems were steadily weakening as they moved over land.
"We are very, very thankful that we have avoided the worst of what could have been an absolute catastrophe," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Marcia was originally predicted to be a relatively weak cyclone, but grew in strength at an alarming rate late Thursday into a menacing Category 5 storm – the most powerful form of cyclone in Australia. The storm's rapid growth prompted Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart to warn: "This is going to be a calamity, there's absolutely no doubt about that."
About 30,000 people living in and around the Queensland town of Yeppoon – 700 kilometres (400 miles) north of the state capital, Brisbane – were initially expected to experience the worst of the storm, and nearly 900 residents in low-lying areas were told to evacuate. But a slight change in the cyclone's path spared the town the most ferocious winds, and it steadily weakened as it headed south toward the city of Rockhampton, home to about 80,000 people.
Yeppoon resident John McGrath, who rode out the storm with his family in their house just 100 metres (330 feet) from the beach, watched as the roof of his neighbour's home peeled off, flew through the air and landed across the road.
McGrath, his wife and their two children, Emma, 6, and Michael, 4, dragged cushions and mattresses into a bathroom at the back of the house and huddled there for several terrifying hours as the walls shook and water seeped through the windows. When they emerged to survey the damage, they were relieved to find their house largely spared, apart from a couple broken windows. But elsewhere in Yeppoon, the ground was cluttered with ripped-off roofs, twisted trees and awnings torn from shopfronts.
"The house is intact and everyone's healthy and well, so I can't complain," he said. "It was just intense, absolutely intense."
Officials pleaded with hardened Queensland residents – no strangers to violent cyclones – to take the storm seriously. A cyclone of similar strength, Yasi, hit the state in 2011, destroying scores of homes but causing no deaths.
Some 48,000 homes were left without power, with broken power lines and flooding leaving some areas too dangerous for energy companies to begin repairs.
Data supplied by the Bureau of Meteorology showed Marcia moving inland rather than directly impacting the Gladstone industrial hub, where Rio Tinto operates Australia's largest aluminium smelter.
In the Northern Territory, Cyclone Lam struck a remote stretch of coast, tearing up trees and downing power lines, but causing no widespread damage as it fizzled out and moved inland.
Emergency service officials in the neighbouring Northern Territory were beginning to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Lam that made landfall in the remote region east of Darwin.
The category 4 storm hit near the settlement of Ramingining, where residents were beginning to emerge to inspect the damage. Communications had been cut with tiny Elcho Island, which was believed to have experienced widespread damage, police said.
By evening, Lam had been downgraded to a tropical low but continued to dump heavy rain across the north as it moved southwest.
With files from Reuters