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Summary Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard toured communities in northeastern Australia on Friday (February 4) in the wake of Cyclone Yasi.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard toured communities in northeastern Australia on Friday (February 4) in the wake of Cyclone Yasi. The cyclone, one of the most powerful cyclones on record, tore off roofs, toppled power lines and terrified tens of thousands of people hunkered down in their homes on Thursday. Military troops have been deployed to help residents and aid recovery in the region. There are four thousand troops in total. We are here in Townsville, which is home to Lavarack Barracks. We have a large standing presence here in Townsville and in this region and so those four thousand soldiers are being able to assist during the cyclone recovery and they did do a lot to assist as the community prepared for the cyclone as well and I do want to thank them for their work and I thank some of the individuals involved today, said Gillard. Queenslands Premier Anna Bligh and federal Treasurer Wayne Swan inspected the damage in Cardwell. This is clearly one of the worst-hit areas. Its one of our biggest tasks, said Bligh.
