Howling winds, heavy rain and huge seas pounded Australia's northeast Tuesday, damaging homes, wrecking jetties and cutting power to thousands of people as Tropical Cyclone Debbie tore through Queensland state's far north.

Wind gusts stronger than 260 kph (160 mph) were recorded at tourist resorts along the world-famous Great Barrier Reef as the powerful storm made landfall as a Category 4, one rung below the most dangerous wind-speed level.

It was later downgraded to a Category 3 storm. Forecasters said high winds could persist for as long as 10 hours, although it would then weaken rapidly and was expected to be downgraded to a Category 1 before dawn Wednesday.