Australia Weather News

A tropical paradise one day, and smashed by a tropical cyclone the next.

These stark before and after photos show Cyclone Debbie hitting Hamilton Island, where the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has registered wind gusts of up to 263 kilometres per hour.

The photos were taken by a friend of an ABC staff member, who said things had gotten worse since the second photo was taken, and he was now sheltering in the bathroom to wait for the cyclone to pass.