SYDNEY - A tropical cyclone smashed into Australia's northeast coast on Sunday, with winds of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) an hour damaging buildings, downing trees and cutting power to thousands of homes.

Cyclone Ului made landfall near Queensland's Whitsunday islands, a popular tourist destination on the Great Barrier Reef, leaving 60,000 properties without power, state Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said.

"The early reports we're getting in is minor to moderate damage in a number of homes, power outages across the region," Roberts told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Officials are assessing the impact that Ului, which has been downgraded since making landfall near the tourist town of Airlie Beach, has had on the region.

One resident described the storm, which had been building off the coast for days, forcing the evacuation of residents and tourists from some low-lying islands, as "pretty wild".

"I live in a pretty rickety old house and she was jumping up and down on the stumps a bit -- I've got an avocado tree through my dog kennel," the caller told ABC radio.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm was continuing to move inland but was now below cyclone strength after weakening rapidly when it hit land.

"Damaging winds are no longer expected," the bureau said in a statement, adding that heavy rainfall and flooding were likely in some coastal areas while surf conditions were expected to be dangerous.

On Friday, a 19-year-old ironman competing in the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships in Queensland died after he was knocked unconscious and disappeared in wild surf whipped up by the cyclone.

Hundreds of tourists and residents were last week evacuated from islands on the Great Barrier Reef thought to be in the cyclone's path, and dozens of popular tourist beaches were shut due to dangerous surf conditions.