Cyclone Carlos bears down on Darwin

School has been cancelled for the day and Darwin Airport remains closed after the Bureau of Meteorology declared a cyclone warning for coastal areas from Daly River Mouth to Point Stuart, including Darwin and the Tiwi Islands.

At least one house was destroyed overnight by a fallen tree, while an ambulance transporting a patient to Royal Darwin Hospital was crushed by a tree, but there were no serious injuries.

Emergency services crews received more than 2,000 calls for help, including reports of 91 trees and 31 powerlines down and several cars abandoned in rising water.

In the Darwin suburb of Marrara, a record 435 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours.

There are serious concerns about storm surge in the Rapid Creek, Millner and Nightcliff areas, with a high tide of 6.6 metres expected at 5.39pm CST, Northern Territory Police said.

read more at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/16/3140154.htm

Comment: Talk back radio in Sydney has received many calls from listeners who have relatives or friends in Darwin. Many had rung this morning reporting a ferocious night last night. It left one wondering if this storm is stronger than a Cat. 1.

Latest news from Darwin
Top End residents are continuing to be battered by Cyclone Carlos, but local officials say conditions are not severe enough to warrant opening the city's cyclone shelters tonight.

The combination of more than 400 millimetres of rain overnight and winds in excess of 100 kilometres per hour have knocked down trees and powerlines across the city.

Despite the conditions being brought by the category one storm, the Northern Territory Counter Disaster Council is confident people will be safe in their own homes and will reassess its position tomorrow morning

Main roads have been cut by floodwaters and a 6.6-metre high tide later this evening is expected to add to the 30 homes inundated overnight. At least one house was destroyed by a fallen tree.

School was cancelled for today and tomorrow and Darwin Airport remains closed.

The weather bureau has declared a cyclone warning for coastal areas from Daly River Mouth to Goulburn Island, including Darwin, Croker Island and the Tiwi Islands.


read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/16/3140812.htm?section=justin

NEW ALERTS ISSUED AS CYCLONE CARLOS REFORMS

Communities in the Kimberley and Pilbara are on cyclone and flood alert as a tropical cyclone reforms over the sea west of Broome.

After moving over the Top End from the east, the reformed Cyclone Carlos is expected to move west southwest roughly parallel to the Pilbara coast and intensify on Monday and Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

A yellow alert is current for people in or near coastal communities from Whim Creek to Mardie including Whim Creek, Roebourne, Wickham, Point Samson, Roebourne, Karratha, Dampier, Mardie and surrounding inland communities.

The Department for Child Protection will set up a relocation centre at Pilbara TAFE, Karratha Campus on Dampier Road from 2pm today.

People are advised to make their way to the centre from 2pm. Do not wait until the last minute.

Apache is evacuating non-essential staff from the Varanus Island gas plant and has shut production at oil fields as the cyclone approaches.

Production is shut in at the Stag field and staff are leaving the platform Apache spokesman David Parker said.

The Dampier Spirit floating production, storage and offloading vessel will depart from Stag today.

Production is shut at the Van Gogh field, from where the Ningaloo Vision FPSO vessel will sail this evening, Mr Parker said.

Gas processing continues at the Varanus Island facility.

A cyclone warning is current for coastal areas from Cape Leveque to Mardie including Broome, and a cyclone watch was current for Pilbara coastal areas from Mardie to Cape Cuvier.

The Shire of Broome issued a notice this morning saying the Broome-Cape Leveque Road, which leads to Aboriginal communities including One Arm Point, Djarindjin-Lombadina and Beagle Bay, is closed to all vehicles until further notice after heavy rains overnight.

It has also advised extreme caution on the roads, especially floodways, washouts and creek crossing which it says can be much deeper than they appear.

The bureau said wind gusts up to 100km/h may develop in coastal areas between Cape Leveque and De Grey and gales may extend along the Pilbara coast to Karratha on Monday night.

“There is the risk of destructive winds with gusts exceeding 125km/h on Tuesday along the Pilbara coast and very destructive winds with gusts exceeding 165km/h possible west of Mardie later on Tuesday,” it said.

The bureau said significant stream rises and widespread local flooding was possible between Port Hedland and Karratha from early tomorrow.

A flood watch is also in place for the northern and western Kimberley.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority is advising people to be prepared to move equipment and livestock and to stay out of floodwaters.

The bureau has also issued a flood warning for the Murchison River catchment and a flood watch for Western Australia's Goldfields region where thunderstorms are expected.

Residents braced for severe flooding in the State's Mid West have been spared significant damage, but road closures remain after heavy weekend rain.

Brand Highway between Geraldton and Dongara was closed to all traffic about 11pm yesterday and remains closed this morning.

A Main Roads WA spokesman said he believed there was water on the road and it was unlikely the highway would be reopened within the next few hours.

Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road between Mullewa and Yalgoo and Geraldton-Walkaway Road are also closed.

Main Roads regional manager Tim Glenister said access to and from Geraldton was still possible using inland roads through Mullewa, Mingenew and the Midlands district.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/8877800