Cyclone Narelle tracker: Maps, emergency warnings, school closures and more
Follow live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
Far North Queensland is bracing for the impact of Cyclone Narelle, which is expected to be the biggest cyclone to hit the region in nine years.
The storm formed in the Coral Sea between Queensland’s east coast and Vanuatu and was upgraded to tropical cyclone status on Tuesday afternoon.
Narelle Road
As of Thursday afternoon, forecasters predicted the virus would move into the sparsely populated area between the Lockhart River and Cape Melville by Friday morning and “very likely” to have a severe impact.
It is expected to weaken as it passes Queensland, but strengthen back to hurricane status as it moves west across the Gulf of Carpentaria into the Northern Territory.
Nine public schools closed due to worsening conditions before landfall and will reopen once it is safe for staff and students.
Prime Minister David Crisafulli said the government was “keeping an eye on” more than 10 other schools within the warning zone.
The following schools in the north of the state are closed until further notice.
Speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon, Crisafulli said the window for evacuating people in the path of the hurricane to other areas was closing.
It said access to all communities north of Laura has been cut and will be “offline for an extended period of time.”
The Bureau of Meteorology said heavy rain was expected across the region late on Thursday, with flood watches in place for dozens of river catchments, including:
- Jacky Jacky Creek
- Barron River
- Johnstone River
- Murray River
- Herbert River
- Staaten River
- Coleman and Edward Rivers
- Holroyd and Kendall Rivers
- Olive and Pascoe Rivers
- Archer and Coen Rivers
- Watson River
- Embley and Mission Rivers
- Wenlock River
- Ducie, Jackson and Skardon Rivers
- Jardine River
- Lockhart River
- Stewart River
- Normanby River
- Jeannie River
- Endeavor River
- Mossman River
- Mitchell River
- Daintree River (including Bloomfield River)
- Mulgrave and Russell Rivers
- Tully River
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