A tropical cyclone hit Australia’s Northern Territory overnight, uprooting trees and traffic lights and severing power for thousands of people in its wake.
Residents on Sunday began clearing streets after the cyclone brought with it powerful winds, including in Darwin — the region’s capital.
Cyclone Fina hits northern Australia with destructive winds
Fina hovered off the coast of the Northern Territory for many days before transforming into a Category 3 storm.
On Saturday night, it passed Darwin and the Tiwi Islands with wind gusts of 110 kilometres per hour.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology called it a “severe tropical cyclone.”
By Sunday, Fina moved away from Darwin as it clocked wind gusts of up to 205 kilometres per hour.
Cyclone knocks out power in Darwin
Fina battered Darwin — a busy city of nearly 140,000 residents — damaging property and submerging roads, but no injuries were reported.
About 19,000 people in the city were left without electricity.
The Northern Territory’s chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, said efforts were being made to restore power.
“In true territory spirit, neighbours are coming out with chainsaws and everyone’s chipping in,” the regional premier said amid clean up efforts.
Australian media reported that a part of the roof of the city’s major Royal Darwin Hospital collapsed during the storm.
Meanwhile, the Darwin International Airport had reopened on Sunday after being forced to close operations on Saturday.
Darwin was the site of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters after Cyclone Tracy wiped out most of the city on Christmas Day 1974, leaving 66 people dead.
“This cyclone saw a territory that was united and prepared for what was to come,” Finocchiaro told the media on Sunday.
Where is Cyclone Fina heading next?
Fina is now barrelling offshore towards Western Australia.
Weather forecasters say it could strengthen into a category 4 storm.
However, weather authorities said on Sunday that it was unlikely for Fina to make landfall and the storm would gradually fray over the next few days.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
