Australia is bracing for what could be Queensland’s worst tropical cyclone in living memory as Storm Narelle bears down on the far north coast.
The storm, a category 5 system with wind gusts of up to 300kmph at its eye, was expected to make landfall on Friday near Coen, a remote town on Cape York peninsula.
If the cyclone crosses at that strength, it will be the first category 5 system to strike that stretch of coastline in over a century and only the fourth to cross the Queensland coast in 50 years.
Queensland premier David Crisafulli said emergency services resources were being deployed to the region and urged residents to use Wednesday to prepare or to evacuate.
“This may be the biggest system that many people have seen in living memory, and that’s why we’re asking people to prepare as we have,” he said.
He warned that because of the peninsula’s narrow width, destructive winds could reach communities well inland across the Cape even as the system weakens.
The storm formed on Tuesday evening south of the Solomon Islands and had already intensified to a category 3 system by Wednesday afternoon. The Bureau of Meteorology said there was a 90 per cent chance the system would track west, making landfall near Coen on Friday.
“An estimate of wind gusts at that time is about 200 to 250kmph, noting that’s the intense core around the eye of the system, with the destructive winds extending out from that core,” Sue Oates, a meteorologist at the bureau, said.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese said the storm had the potential to be a “very dangerous” weather event for Queensland and the Northern Territory. “The Commonwealth stands ready to provide whatever assistance is required,” he said.
Queensland police disaster coordinator Chris Stream warned the storm could cost lives, and warned people to stay indoors. “This is not the opportunity for you to be outside during the cyclone, getting that TikTok moment,” he said. “A piece of debris being propelled at 100km an hour or more will likely kill you.”
The storm will lash the Queensland coast with heavy rainfall and a heightened risk of flash flooding. After crossing Cape York peninsula, the system is forecast to re-intensify as it tracks west across the Gulf of Carpentaria, potentially reaching severe tropical cyclone strength again before striking the eastern Northern Territory over the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned that gales, destructive winds and flash flooding were possible in the Port McArthur and Nhulunbuy regions from Saturday.
Parts of the Northern Territory, including Katherine and Daly River, remain in recovery from recent flooding. Police said an evacuation of Katherine was not currently planned, but the situation could change.
A luxury resort on Lizard Island had already been evacuated. Seven people left the island’s Australian Museum coral research station, with eight essential staff remaining under a cyclone management plan. Vulnerable residents, including those requiring dialysis and pregnant women, are being flown out of the affected area.
A category 5 cyclone carries winds above 200kmph and is classified by the Bureau of Meteorology as “extremely dangerous with widespread destruction of buildings and vegetation”. Cyclone categories do not account for flooding or storm surges.
Source: independent.co.uk