Cyclone Ului heads towards Qld
Updated: 10:00, Saturday March 20, 2010
Tropical cyclone Ului is heading towards Queensland's northern and central coasts with destructive winds of up to 140 kilometres an hour.
The storm weakened considerably overnight to a category two system, easing fears of extensive damage in the state's coastal areas.
Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) forecaster Vikish Prasad said the storm was 690km northeast of Mackay early on Saturday morning, moving southwest along the coast at a speed of 13km/h.
It is expected to hit land between Cardwell and Mackay some time on Sunday morning.
'It is now a category two storm with some destructive winds at its centre,' Mr Prasad told AAP.
A cyclone warning remains in place for coastal areas from Townsville to Yeppoon, he added.
A spokeswoman for the State Emergency Services (SES) said volunteers are ready to respond and crews from around the state are ready to deploy to the affected region if required.
Tourists have been evacuated from a number of island resorts in the Whitsundays group, and boat operators have been told to stay in port.
Coal ports along the central Queensland coast have been closed, and Jetstar has suspended flights to Hamilton Island over the weekend.
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