Emergency warnings have been issued for thousands of people as Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle approaches the northeast coast of Australia’s Queensland. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported that the cyclone had reached Category 4 strength and could escalate to a Category 5 storm before landfall early on Friday. Very destructive wind gusts exceeding 250 km per hour are expected near the cyclone’s center, with heavy rainfall likely to cause flash flooding from Thursday evening.
The storm, currently about 440 km off the east coast of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, is moving west at a speed of 25 km per hour. An emergency warning covers a 600-km stretch of the peninsula’s east coast, including Cooktown and the Aboriginal community of Lockhart River. Queensland’s premier, David Crisafulli, urged residents in the warning area to prepare emergency supplies and take the situation seriously.
The BoM predicts the cyclone will briefly weaken as it crosses the Cape York Peninsula before intensifying again in the Gulf of Carpentaria and affecting the Northern Territory over the weekend. Authorities in the Northern Territory announced plans to evacuate around 500 people from the remote community of Numbulwar as a precautionary measure.
