Cyclone Larry relief efforts kick into gear

John Howard (C) talks to banana growers near Babinda, about 80 km south of Cairns. Picture / Reuters

INNISFAIL - Thousands of northeast coast residents patched up homes with tarpaulins yesterday as heavy rain hampered relief efforts following powerful Cyclone Larry.

The damage bill from Larry, which amazingly did not claim any lives when it hit on Monday, is about A$1.5 billion ($1.78 billion).

Bottled water, ready-made meals, generators, toilets and an Army field kitchen have been delivered to a 300km stretch of coast south of Cairns. Prime Minister John Howard yesterday inspected the devastation left after winds topping 290km/h destroyed homes and livelihoods.

"It has made me unselfish," said Jody Haendel, who lives in the small town of Babinda where Howard stopped and spoke to cyclone survivors. "My home came out okay, but my parents house was destroyed. All their possessions were ruined."

In Babinda, which has a population of about 1200, emergency services said 80 per cent of buildings had been damaged, while in Innisfail - which bore the brunt of Larry and is home to 8500 people - half the homes had been structurally damaged.

Cyclone Larry's winds were stronger than Hurricane Katrina's of 209km/h.

Larry also devastated sugar cane and banana crops, with industry groups expecting raw sugar production for the world's third-largest exporter to be cut by 500,000 tonnes, or 10 per cent. About 90 per cent of Australia's banana production is believed to have been wiped out.

"One of my aims will be to try and find a way of helping small businesses through, because they are the lifeblood of these communities," Howard said.

Banana grower and father-of-three Martin Buchanan lost all his crops on his 100ha property. "My house and my family are fine but my living is totally destroyed. We are all wondering what we are going to do."

- REUTERS