Cyclone Jasper set to bring heavy rain, strong winds for Australia’s northeast

Residents in Australia’s northeast on Tuesday braced for heavy rain and damaging winds from tropical cyclone Jasper, expected to make landfall in the next 24 hours, as authorities set up evacuation centres and deployed more emergency crews.
Jasper, located about 250 kilometres (186 miles) off the far north coast of Queensland state in the Coral Sea, is forecast to intensify to a category 2 storm, packing wind gusts of up to 140 km per hour, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Heavy rain is forecast across a coastal area stretching more than 600 km, including the tourist town of Cairns, which has a population of about 150,000. Some places should receive up to 500 mm (20 inches) of rain in 24 hours with authorities warning of flash flooding there.
Australia is under the influence of the El Nino phenomenon this summer, which can provoke extreme weather phenomena from wildfires to tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts.