A tropical cyclone bearing down on Northern Australia has forced entire towns to evacuate and a mining company to suspend operations, Authorities said on Friday.
Cyclone Trevor is expected to make landfall on Saturday morning as a category four near the town of Borroloola on the Gulf of Carpentaria, said Todd Smith, Northern Territory Manager for the Bureau of Meteorology.
“This is a very dangerous tropical cyclone with wind gusts, getting up around 275 kilometres per hour (km/h) near the centre of the system as it crosses the coast,’’ Smith told reporters in Darwin.
It could even reach category five, he said, which would see wind gusts of more than 300 km/h. Currently, the cyclone is a category three and has already entered the Gulf at Australia’s northern tip.
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Smith said heavy rainfall, destructive winds and dangerous storm tides were also expected and a severe flood watch has been issued.
The Northern Territory has declared a state of emergency for the entire Gulf region.
Over 2,100 people have already evacuated from remote Aboriginal communities to Darwin and Katherine, Police and emergency officials said.
The entire towns of Borroloola and Numbulwar have been evacuated, Regional Police Controller, Travis Wurst, told reporters on Friday.
Over 600 residents have been evacuated from Groote Eylandt, the largest island in the Gulf, he added.
The army said it was supporting local authorities in the evacuation, with 200 service members and four transport aircraft deployed.
Mining company Glencore, which has a zinc mine in the region, has temporarily suspended all operations due to the cyclone, a company spokesperson said.
On Christmas Day in 1974, Darwin was almost completely destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, which killed 71 people. (NAN)