Canberra, Nov. 23 — The Australian government announced on Sunday that it is ready to back the Northern Territory (NT) after Tropical Cyclone Fina struck Darwin on Saturday night.
Kristy McBain, the federal emergency‑management minister, told ABC this morning that Canberra is collaborating with the NT government, and will support any funding requests under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
In the morning, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) lowered its alert for Darwin, the Tiwi Islands and nearby regions as the storm tracked southwest across the southern Timor Sea, according to Xinhua.
The cyclone damaged buildings and knocked out power throughout the city, but local outlets reported no injuries as of Sunday dawn.
The BOM projects that Fina will stay a severe tropical cyclone on Sunday while heading southwest across the southern Timor Sea, before beginning to weaken on Monday near Western Australia’s northern coast.
Earlier on Friday, the BOM described the system—then at category 1—as moving sluggishly south‑southwest. It was expected to strengthen to category 2 over the day.
The storm is set to approach the Cobourg Peninsula, NT’s northernmost mainland point, roughly 200 km northeast of Darwin, as well as the Tiwi Islands, arriving around Friday night and then spiraling south‑west through Van Diemen Gulf Saturday.
Looking ahead, the BOM foresees Fina intensifying to a severe tropical cyclone by Sunday afternoon in the southern Timor Sea, with a possibility of reaching category 3 as early as Friday night or Saturday morning when it enters Van Diemen Gulf.
Maps show wind gusts of up to 155 km/h and heavy rain that could trigger flash flooding in Darwin, the Tiwi Islands, and the Cobourg Peninsula.
At a Friday press briefing, NT Emergency Service chief Wayne Snell said there are no evacuation orders for communities at this time. He urged residents of the Greater Darwin area to activate their emergency plans and stay prepared for the next three days.
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