An emergency warning has been issued for parts of the Northern Territory as Tropical Cyclone Narelle approaches, with very destructive winds gusting up to 195km/h expected. The NT fire and emergency services commissioner, Andrew Warton, urged residents to shelter in the smallest, strongest room of their homes, such as a bathroom or toilet, and warned against venturing outside.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported that Narelle, downgraded from a category 4 to a 2 after crossing Cape York, was forecast to strengthen to a category 3 before making landfall in the eastern Top End late Saturday. As of 12:30pm NT time, the storm was moving west in the Gulf of Carpentaria at about 20km/h, with landfall expected around 3am.
Heavy rain of 150-200mm daily, with up to 300mm possible, may cause flash flooding. Major flooding is expected for the Katherine, Daly, Waterhouse and Adelaide River catchments, peaking on Sunday and Monday. The Katherine mayor, Joanna Holden, said the town's population of 10,000 was preparing seriously, with sandbagging under way since Thursday.
The Australian Defence Force has evacuated almost 150 people from Numbulwar, with hundreds more to follow. In Darwin, about 500 evacuees from Numbulwar are sheltering at Nightcliff High School. The federal emergency management minister, Kristy McBain, confirmed that a field hospital team has been deployed to Katherine and disaster recovery payments have been activated for affected areas.
The NT chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, warned of moderate to major flood levels in Katherine by Monday, noting the community was still recovering from last week's floods. The Northern Land Council chair, Matthew Ryan, raised concerns about the quality of care in evacuation centres, citing inadequate food and bedding.
