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Destructive winds are hammering NT as Cyclone Fina approaches Darwin as a Category 3 system
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Destructive winds are hammering NT as Cyclone Fina approaches Darwin as a Category 3 system

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Devastating winds are battering remote communities in the Top End as Tropical Cyclone Fina strengthens as it approaches major population centres.
Fina passed through the Cobourg Peninsula overnight and into Van Diemen Gulf on Saturday, slowly heading just north of the Northern Territory capital Darwin.
Earlier in the morning, the Bureau of Meteorology said the system had been upgraded to category three.
A cyclone warning zone was in place for Darwin, the Daly River estuary to Cape Don, including the Tiwi Islands, Dundee Beach, Milikapiti, Pirlangimpi and Wurrumiyanga.

At 10:30 Darwin time, Fina had winds near the center of 130 km/h with gusts up to 185 km/h. It tracked 85 km northeast of Darwin.

At the third level of severity, cyclones can bring wind gusts of up to 140 miles per hour and cause structural damage to property.
“Highly destructive wind gusts are likely to be seen around exposed coastal areas northeast of Darwin today, but the risk at Darwin is assessed as low,” the weather bureau said.
The city can still absorb destructive and damaging wind gusts.

Heavy rain could lead to flash flooding in coastal areas between the Tiwi Islands and Warruwi, stretching across the western Top End, including Darwin, on Saturday and Sunday.

Speaking in South Africa, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged people in the cyclone’s path to take care of themselves and others.
“My thoughts are with the people at this time and also with the first responders and others who will be working hard,” he said.

The NT Emergency Service is confident most buildings in Darwin can withstand the storm and is advising people to stay at home as the destructive winds pass by.

Material damage expected

Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said category three winds of 150 to 180 km/h would occur near the center of the cyclone, with winds of up to 120 km/h in Darwin.
That wind strength would be “easily enough to cause property damage and down trees and power lines,” he told ABC News.

Some island locations recorded 200mm of rain in 24 hours and similar falls were expected around Darwin.

When the wind and rain increased in Darwin, most businesses decided to close. Source: SBS news / Josh van Staden

Narramore said the impact was highly dependent on Fina’s exact trajectory and intensity.

“If it moves a little further north there will be less impact on Darwin and more impact on the Tiwi,” he said.
“But if it wobbles a little further south this afternoon, we could see more impact in Darwin.”

Alice Williams, the Tiwi Islands Regional Council office coordinator in Milikapiti, near the northernmost part of the area, told AAP the winds were starting to pick up and some people were “a bit worried”.

The sirens were ready to activate, so the community knew the weather was worsening and it was time to take shelter, she said.
The community of about 500 residents had sufficient food, water and fuel and two additional police officers were on hand to assist.
People had moved to public shelters at the municipal office and primary school on Friday evening, while others chose to stay in homes deemed safe, Williams said.

As winds and rain increased in Darwin, most businesses were closed, including major supermarkets.

‘Your fellow Australians are with you’

Federal assistance has been offered to the NT government, Emergency Situations Minister Kristy McBain said on Friday.

“What I would like to say to communities in the Northern Territory now is that your fellow Australians are with you,” she told reporters in Canberra.

Residents of the Top End have been stocking up on essentials with bottled water, bread, canned goods and other household essentials flying off supermarket shelves.
Conditions in the Top End will ease by late Sunday as Fina moves further offshore, although the storm is expected to strengthen to a Category 4 system after it passes Darwin and heads towards Western Australia tomorrow.

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