Tourists trapped on Whitsundays with dwindling supplies

Tourists trapped on Whitsundays with dwindling supplies
By Hannah Edensor


Tourists and locals alike have been left stranded in The Whitsundays after Cyclone Debbie wreaked havoc on the tourist hotspot and Great Barrier Reef.

Per reports, as many as 3000 are stuck with minimal rations and supplies, and airlines ready to help evacuate guests from Hamilton Island airport.

Per news.com.au, guests on Daydream Island have been supplied with just one bottle of water to last until evacuation teams arrive.

According to The Courier Mail, authorities are planning to use military and private helicopters to evacuate people from Daydream and Hamilton islands.

Attempts to get guests out of Daydream Island via ferry were slashed when the island’s jetty was wrecked during the storm.

A guest staying on Hamilton Island told The Courier Mail the winds were ferocious and walls wouldn’t stop shaking.

“Boats washed ashore, houses without roofs, windows smashed in, trees snapped in half, gum trees torn out of the ground and those that do remain standing, are bare and lifeless,” they said.

“The wind gusts were so ferocious, they sounded like freight trains passing by. The concrete walls were shaking non-stop all day.”

The Hamilton Island Facebook page issued this piece of news for concerned travellers, which explains Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Qantas will be providing additional flights tomorrow to assist guests with departing Hamilton Island.

Delays are to be expected.

Things don’t look much better on Airlie Beach either, where some tourists claim to have not eaten in 24-hours.

“I just want to go home,” Melbourne woman Karina Calle, who was in Queensland for a holiday, told Channel Seven’s Sunrise.

“I came up with mum from Melbourne to have just some time away, we weren’t expecting this. I’m trying to get some food and water at the moment, we’ve got nothing.”

More than 63,000 homes are without power in areas including  Mackay, Sarina, Airlie Beach and Proserpine, and people stranded in the region have been told to expect more heavy rain and power shortages for days.

Image: Courier Mail

Latest News