State braces as biggest cyclone ‘in living memory’ looms
Tropical Cyclone Narelle is barrelling toward northern Australia and could impact the coast as a category five system, inflicting winds up to more than 250km/h.
Source: BOM
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has increased in strength on Thursday as it barrels towards the far North Queensland coast.
The monstrous system has intensified to category four, with damaging gusts of up to 155km/h expected to start bombarding the far north from Thursday.
Narelle is predicted to reach the coast as a dangerous category five system early on Friday, bringing winds up to more than 250km/h.
The tropical cyclone was about 515 kilometres east-north-east of Cooktown on Thursday morning.
Evacuations have begun in isolated towns of the far-north, while others are stockpiling food and water.
“Narelle is moving steadily to the west and will approach the far north-east Queensland coast between Lockhart River and Cooktown,” the weather bureau said on Thursday morning.
“A severe impact is likely during Friday.
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“After crossing the north-east Queensland coast, most likely on Friday morning, Narelle is forecast to continue tracking westwards.
“Narelle is likely to temporarily weaken as it crosses Cape York Peninsula, however it is expected to remain a tropical cyclone.
“Narelle will then continue to move west across the Gulf of Carpentaria, and is forecast to intensify to a severe tropical cyclone before impacting the Northern Territory over the weekend.”
Cooktown, north of Cairns, appears to be in the storm’s sights after it makes landfall further north at Coen.
For the time being, it is business as usual for Luke Pote who owns Cooktown Orchid Travellers Park, one of the town’s only grocery stores.
“We’ve got heaps of beer, food and fuel — we’re good to go,” Pote said on Wednesday.
“We don’t worry about it until it’s right on our doorstop. There’s nothing you can do about it anyway.
“The generators are ready to go – we plan for the wet season every year. We stock up on potatoes and pumpkins.”
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Pote was shocked to discover Narelle was expected to reach category five.
“Really? Wow. I try not to watch the weather, but oh well. She’ll be right,” he said.
“Honestly, it hasn’t been that bad — there’s not too much panic buying yet, I reckon there might be a bit of a rush though if we get hit by a five.
“But there’s not much you can do but wait it out and get ready for the clean-up.”
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the system might be “the biggest system that many people have seen in living memory”.
“It’s a serious situation and the window to act is obviously closing.”
“We’re asking people to prepare for waves, for wind, for rainfall, for flooding but communities will get through it if they do preparations,” Crisafulli said.
After crossing Cape York the storm was then expected to impact the Northern Territory’s Top End before moving into Western Australia’s Kimberley coast.
When it reaches the NT, it is likely to be downgraded to a category three storm.
Narelle will be the first category five storm to hit Queensland since Cyclone Marcia devastated central parts of the state in 2015.
-with AAP
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