Top End braces for flooding as ex-TC Narelle rolls on
Ex-tropical cyclone Narelle is set to leave a path of destruction in another state as residents in the Top End wait for flood levels to rise.
Source: Bureau of Meteorology
A Top End town is bracing for its second floods in a fortnight as wild weather from ex-tropical cyclone Narelle shifts west.
The storm, which weakened to below cyclone strength after crossing the coast at Cape Shield in remote eastern Arnhem Land on Sunday, is still expected to cause widespread damage as more rain falls on already sodden ground and swollen rivers.
The ex-cyclone is forecast to continue its path into Western Australia on Monday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
The tropical low tracked past Katherine overnight, impacting a major Northern Territory town already struck by widespread flooding from a previous storm.
The system will move over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf on Monday, potentially strengthening again to a category-two cyclone, impacting properties in WA’s Kimberley region.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the weather system would lead to rising water levels across the region, particularly in Katherine, where the clean-up from floods a fortnight earlier was winding down.
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“The ground is saturated, our rivers already full and any additional rainfall is going to make a significant impact,” she said.
Major flooding is expected in Katherine from Monday afternoon.
Up to 30 patients at the local hospital have been transferred to care further north ahead of the expected inundation. Patients, including nine pregnant women, were sent to Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals, NT Health said at the weekend.
Katherine Hospital continues to provide medical care, with any patients requiring admission to be transferred north.
Mayor Joanna Holden said the town’s population of 10,000 was taking the forecast seriously and preparations were under way, with sandbagging crews in action from Thursday.
Many properties that had water through them had been cleaned out but other clean-ups were on hold in case buildings flooded again.
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Holden said she was worried volunteers were becoming exhausted after two weeks of helping with the recovery.
“To have to go back again and potentially have to clean out the same places and see the same devastation, that takes its toll,” she said.
Narelle was a category four tropical cyclone but was downgraded to a two as it moved through the Gulf of Carpentaria late on Saturday.
The Bureau of Meteorology told residents from Nhulunbuy to Port McArthur, including Borroloola, Numbulwar, Alyangula and Gapuwiyak, Narelle would strengthen to a category three as it made landfall north of Groote Eylandt.
Gulf communities were also warned to expect abnormally high sea levels that could cause sea water flooding of low-lying areas.
About 500 Numbulwar locals were evacuated to Darwin as a precaution, while residents in other areas were advised to shelter in place with an emergency plan.
Up to 200 millimetres of widespread heavy rain was forecast but bureau spokeswoman Shenagh Gamble said totals exceeding 300 millimetres were possible.
“I want to emphasise that with these rainfall amounts, we expect that that could fall in very intense rain periods,” she said on Saturday.
“Those amounts could fall very quickly as a very locally intense shower or rain storm further inland.”
Ergon Energy crews were deployed to return power to 1150 blacked-out homes across Cape York on Saturday.
While initial reports of damage were not as bad as they could have been, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain warned the danger was not over.
“I urge everyone in the warning zone to prepare, enact their emergency plans if they haven’t already done so, listen to local radio for updates and listen to the advice of local authorities,” she said.
-with AAP
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