The core of Yasi, a “catastrophic” category 5 storm, began crossing Queensland state’s northeast coast with wind gusts of as much as 290 kilometers (180 miles) per hour, the Bureau of Meteorology said. More than 89,000 homes have lost power, schools and airports are closed and military forces were used to airlift 200 hospital patients to the state capital of Brisbane about 1,500 kilometers to the south.