NORTH Queensland residents have been warned to take precautions as an outbreak of dengue fever grips the Cassowary Coast in the wake of Cyclone Yasi.
Ten cases of type-two dengue fever and five type-four cases of the disease have been confirmed in East Innisfail.
Eight people are in hospital and another 13 cases are yet to be confirmed.
The clean-up is continuing across the region, 10 days after it was devastated by the category 5 Cyclone Yasi.
Green waste and ruined possessions still line the streets in the hardest-hit areas of Mission Beach, Tully and Cardwell.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council Deputy Mayor Mark Nolan said it might be weeks before life returned to normal for many residents.
More than 12,000 homes remain without power, while water still needs to be boiled.
Potable water is also being supplied at various community centres across the Cassowary Coast.
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“Power is being slowly restored but this will take some time given how widespread the damage is,” Cr Nolan said.
He said evacuation centres at Tully and Cardwell were still operating but only a handful of people were sleeping there.
Most had found alternative accommodation or had returned to their homes.
The State Government yesterday started food drops for another victim of Yasi – a small population of endangered cassowaries living in the scrub near Mission Beach.
Far north Queensland supermarkets have donated fruit not suitable for sale to supplement the birds’ natural diet.
The cyclone destroyed much of the flightless birds’ normal food sources.
Government officers are also setting up feeding stations to ensure the surviving cassowaries have access to sufficient nourishment.
Kristin Shorten
The Courier-Mail