Two severe cyclones battering Australia

Two cyclones hit the north and east regions of Australia on Friday with winds of up to 290 km per hour recorded so far.

Cyclone Lam, a category four cyclone on a scale of one to five, with five being the most severe, was the first to make landfall in a remote area of the Northern Territory early on Friday.

Then cyclone Marcia slammed into the heavily populated central and southern coastline of Queensland from 8 a.m. local time.

Marcia is a category five cyclone, and one of the most severe to ever hit Australia.

It was still hitting towns such as Yeppoon at 10 a.m. local time on Friday, and moving south towards the cities of Rockhampton and Gladstone.

It is too early to report the level of property damage or injuries to people, thousands of whom have taken refuge in cyclone- proof shelters.

Emergency service personnel in towns up and down the coast have to wait for the cyclone to pass before inspecting the affected areas.

But there have been several thousand calls for help logged at the Queensland cyclone emergency headquarters.

Marcia is expected to move inland later on Friday, but is predicted to dump 500 millimeters of rainfall across the southern half of Queensland, raising the threat of major flooding, including in the capital of Brisbane. Endi