Cyclone Trevor slams into northern Australia, second cyclone expected
Sydney - Cyclone Trevor slammed into northern Australia Saturday morning with 250 kph wind gusts expected to cause destruction in remote settlements and surrounding wilderness.
With the force of a Category 4 cyclone, heavy rain and extreme winds lashed the sparsely populated southern coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria as Cyclone Trevor headed inland at 19 kph.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned the "very destructive core" of the 600-kilometre-wide cyclone will move 400 kilometres inland before declining in strength on Sunday.
More than 2,000 people near the border of the Northern Territory and Queensland were evacuated days before the category 4 cyclone reached landfall near the remote community of Port McArthur.
The 1600 residents of the town of Borroloola in the path of the cyclone have been evacuated along with several remote Aboriginal settlements.
Around 60 miners at the McArthur River mine 100 kilometres inland from the coast have battened down to face the cyclone which is expected to pass them later Saturday, the national broadcaster ABC reported Saturday.
Emergency personnel, planes and helicopters were on standby in Darwin to assist those in need once the system passed over.
Northern Territory Emergency Services director Jason Collins said anyone remaining in Trevor's path needs to have supplies to last at least three days, take shelter and stay away from waterways. He warned people it was too late to leave and try to outrun the cyclone.
"Turn around, don't drown. We may not be there to save you," Collins told Australian Associated Press.
Northern Territory police said six people had refused to leave Borroloola against advice.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned that Cyclone Trevor could dump more than 200 millimetres of rain across the region on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a second category 4 cyclone is due to hit the north-west coast of Australia on Sunday morning. Tropical Cyclone Veronica is expected to cross the Pilbara coast near Port Hedland and move inland across the remote mining areas of Marble Bar and Tom Price.
dpa