Mackay (Australia): Australian officials today said all efforts were being made to help those affected by tropical Cyclone Marcia which smashed through Queensland state leaving 1,500 homes damaged and thousands without electricity.

Marcia was one of two fierce cyclones which hit northern Australia within hours on Friday, with the first Tropical Cyclone Lam which hit remote communities in the Northern Territory near Elcho Island, some 500 kilometres (about 300 miles) east of Darwin.