Cyclone barrels toward northern Australia

BRISBANE, Australia, March 7 (UPI) -- More coastal islands were evacuated Sunday as Cyclone Hamish approached the northern coast of Australia as a powerful Category 5 storm.

Hamish is the strongest storm to hit Queensland since Larry in 2006, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The storm, producing winds of more than 180 mph, was about 100 miles northeast of Mackay at 10 a.m. Sunday local time, the North Queensland Register reported. The storm was expected to move south-southeast parallel to the coast, threatening both coastal towns and offshore islands in the Great Barrier Reef.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh invoked her power to order evacuations in areas in the cyclone's path.

In the Whitsundays, residents and visitors were taken off South Molle and Long islands. On Hamilton Island, 3,000 people were expected to take refuge in the cyclone-proof Reef View Hotel.

In Mackay, anxious residents left store shelves bare of batteries and other essentials, ABC said.

Hamish is the third cyclone to hit Queensland this season.