Top Enders see cyclone off but rain and wind continues
Lloyd Jones |
Top End residents are waiting to launch into clean-up mode after enduring a rough and noisy night of damaging winds and heavy rain as tropical cyclone Fina swept by.
With top gusts of 195km/h and sustained winds near the centre of the system of 140km/h, Fina tore down trees and cut power in many places.
The storm is the strongest cyclone to approach Darwin since Tracy devastated the capital in 1974, but as of 9:30am (local time) Sunday, there are no reports of serious injuries or damage.
Households in Darwin, where gusts reached 107km/h, and surrounds have been told by emergency authorities to stay in their homes or emergency shelters until given the all-clear, as wet and windy weather continues.
Category-three Fina brought destructive winds and heavy downpours to remote Tiwi Islands communities, then the capital and nearby regions on Saturday and into Sunday.
It was a noisy and in many cases sleepless night for Darwin residents as high winds rattled, banged and shook everything in their path.
The sweeping sheets of rain on the streets and high wind gusts forced people to remain indoors.
Emergency shelters were open in Darwin, nearby Palmerston and adjacent rural areas, with people urged to bring their own bedding and food.
Part of a ceiling at the Royal Darwin Hospital collapsed on Saturday but no one was hurt, Emma Carter of NT Police told ABC Radio Darwin.
Early on Sunday Fina was tracking away from the capital offshore to the west, where it is tipped to intensify to a category four system.
A warning zone remains in place for Wadeye to Cape Hotham, including Darwin, the Tiwi Islands, Dundee Beach, Milikapiti, Pirlangimpi and Wurrumiyanga, with gusts of up to 155km/h possible.
Dean Narramore, Senior Meteorologist with the bureau, said in inland areas heavy rain could isolate homesteads and communities, flood roads and possibly inundate businesses if the deluge continued through Sunday.
Fina is predicted to start weakening on Monday as it nears the north Kimberley coast.
Senior Meteorologist Angus Hines said central Darwin had 157mm of rain since 9am on Saturday recorded at the airport.
Middle Point to the southwest of Darwin copped a massive 393mm, Mr Hines said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Commonwealth was providing “every bit of support requested” and his thoughts were with Northern Territorians.
Luke Gosling, the federal member for the NT seat of Solomon, said the Australian Defence Force stood ready to help if required.
At the Darwin waterfront on Sunday morning, local resident Alastair Shields told AAP his home lost power on Saturday night and a nearby road was blocked by a fallen tree.
“It was a bit of a rough night, windy and noisy,” he said.
“You couldn’t see what was happening but you could hear trees cracking and falling. That was pretty hair raising.
“It was a wild night, the clean-up begins.”
When the weather eases, repair crews will work to restore power and clean-up crews will clear the roads of fallen trees and debris.
The bureau of meteorology said Fina was likely to be the strongest tropical cyclone to approach Darwin since Tracy, which killed 66 and destroyed thousands of homes.
In 2005, Ingrid was of comparable strength but tracked further ashore, producing less of an impact on Darwin.
In 2011, Carlos directly crossed Darwin after being downgraded from a cyclone to a tropical storm, breaking many daily rainfall records.
AAP
