Tropical cyclone Jasper makes landfall in Australia

Canberra, Dec 13 (IANS) Tropical Cyclone Jasper with category 2 strength hit northeast Australia on Wednesday, leaving thousands of homes without power, the nationa Bureau of Meteorology and local media said.

"Tropical cyclone Jasper, category 2, is producing damaging to destructive wind gusts on the Far North Queensland coast as it slowly makes landfall," the Bureau said in its latest tropical cyclone advisory.

Sustained winds near the center were 95 km per hour with wind gusts to 130 km per hour, Xinhua news agency quoted the advisory as saying.

About 15,000 homes and businesses remained without power, according to the Courier-Mail newspaper published in Brisbane.

Large parts of Port Douglas lost power as the core of Cyclone Jasper began to cross the coast, the newspaper said.

Tropical cyclone Jasper is expected to weaken as it moves inland Wednesday night, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

"Locally intensive rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is forecast to develop from tonight along the coast and adjacent ranges between Cape Tribulation to Cairns as well as areas near the center of Tropical Cyclone Jasper," the Bureau added.