Towns ‘prepare for the worst’ as cyclone bears down
As the border-crossing and reforming hurricane gathers strength and heads towards the mainland for a third time, communities are bracing for the worst.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle was upgraded to a strong category four system off the northwestern coast of Western Australia on Thursday.
The storm is on track to make landfall in the Shark Bay region late Friday as a category three system capable of producing winds of up to 140 mph.
Tourists were told to leave the area, main roads were closed and evacuation centers were set up ahead of Narelle’s arrival.
Shark Bay district chairman Peter Stubberfield said volunteers were busy sandbagging ahead of a possible tidal surge in the small resort town of Denham on the Peron Peninsula, 830km north of Perth.
“We’re preparing for the worst, which could be a category three hurricane, and we’re hoping for less than that,” he said.
Mr Stubberfield said tourists were asked to leave the community of about 700 people, which has only one road from the mainland, but some refused.
“There seems to be some pushback for some people; some of the travelers don’t seem to be taking it seriously, which is a bit frustrating,” he said.
Narelle’s epic journey across northern Australia began on Friday when it made landfall in Queensland as a category four system and crossed the Cape York Peninsula.
It left a series of power outages and floods hitting the NT as a category three by Sunday, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate.
After crossing the WA as a tropical low on Monday, Narelle gained strength in the Indian Ocean as it moved southwest along the Pilbara coastline.
It produces winds of up to 230 km per hour and is located approximately 365 km northeast of Exmouth.
Tackle store manager Barry Taylor said Exmouth residents had been working hard ahead of Narelle’s arrival to “lock or tie up everything we could and make it as safe as possible”.
“Of course, we don’t make it too difficult,” he said.
The system is expected to move southeastwards after crossing the coast and pass east of Perth as a tropical low area on Saturday, bringing showers and thunderstorms.
More than a week after its arrival, Narelle is expected to finally leave Australia, heading into the Southern Ocean early on Sunday.
Some homes in the NT town of Katherine were flooded for the second time in a month.
The Katherine River was expected to rise to just above the 17.5-metre major flood stage at the town bridge on Thursday.
River rise caused by heavy rain falling by Narelle flooded streets in the town and brought water to low-lying properties including Gorge Road and the nearby community of Kalano, mayor Joanna Holden told AAP.
Emergency shelters were prepared to receive evacuees, and a portable field hospital was established after the hospital in the town was closed.
Homes and businesses in Katherine were flooded after the river rose to 19.2 meters on March 7, causing the town’s worst flooding in 28 years.
Ms Holden said the river was likely to remain at a major flood level of around 17.5 meters for several hours before receding.
He said it was too early to tell whether the worst of the new floods were over.
“Any rain is a risk until the river comes back down.”
Residents were forced to suspend clean-up efforts, but were prepared for renewed flooding by volunteers and defense force personnel sent to assist with a massive sandbag operation.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
