Only two weeks ago, 60% of Queensland was inundated with flood waters, whilst the south of Australia was hit by record high temperatures and bushfires. Now, the Queensland coastline is currently under cyclone watch as Cyclone Hamish is pushing south along the Great Barrier Reef, and has intensified to a category 5 cyclone, with winds reaching above 280kmh and waves >7m.

Cyclone Hamish missed the Whitsunday Islands, instead heading offshore and weakening to a category 4, but has now veered south-easterly and is currently heading towards the Capricorn Bunker group, directly in the path of Heron Island Research Station. More updates as they come – although no one is certain when the cyclone will cross the coastline, the news are predicting an impact similar if not larger than Cyclone Larry (the last cat 5 cyclone to cross the coast) in 2006.