Telecommunications giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) has activated its cyclone disaster plan for northern Queensland ahead of the coastal crossing of Cyclone Yasi.

Regional service director John Parkin said Telstra was well prepared and experienced in disaster recovery measures.

“We are monitoring the network closely in preparation for Cyclone Yasi,” he said.

“Standby equipment is available in key regional centres but we know from our experience with other cyclones that the greatest difficulty with restoring services is access to mains power after a destructive weather event.

“Telstra operates a diverse network, however there will always be factors such as destruction of infrastructure or power outages caused by winds and localised flooding that may have the potential to interfere with the provision of services.

“We continue to work closely with Emergency Service organisations and local District Disaster Management Groups to ensure we are a practical part of preparations for Yasi.

“We remind customers that during and following significant weather events, the mobile network might experience extremely heavy load due to the high volume of call attempts being made within a concentrated area or damage to network infrastructure.

“As a staff safety measure, we will be temporarily closing several call centres based in north Queensland. As a result, customers may experience some delay in reaching our teams, however, all calls will be diverted and answered by other centres.”

Mr Parkin said Telstra will continue to monitor Bureau of Meteorology reports and implement precautionary actions.

According to him, Telstra will undertake a full assessment of network damage and provide further advice when Cyclone Yasi hits the Queensland coast.

“In case of the worst, Telstra is well prepared to repair and restore our network and assist Emergency Service organisations,” he said.