Two cyclones spinning toward north Aussie coast

CANBERRA: Two powerful cyclones are blowing toward Australia’s sparsely populated north where around 2,000 people have been evacuated from the east coast of the Northern Territory ahead of strong winds, mountainous waves and flooding rain.

Cyclones are frequent in Australia’s tropical north and rarely claim lives, but two such large storms as Cyclones Trevor and Veronica crossing land on the same weekend is rare.

Trevor is expected to cross the east shore of the Northern Territory this morning as a Category Four storm.

It had sustained winds of 130kph with gusts to 185kph yesterday afternoon.

Gusts of 275kph are expected around the eye when the cyclone makes landfall, Bureau of Meteorology manager Todd Smith said yesterday.

The Northern Territory communities nearest the expected landfall were evacuated on Thursday, most of the 2,000 or so residents going by road or defence cargo planes to the provincial capital Darwin.

Many also went to the inland city of Katherine.

Veronica is also expected to be a Category Four when it crosses the coast of Western Australia state tomorrow night.

Its sustained winds were 175kph around midday yesterday.

A Category Four severe tropical cyclone is roughly similar to a Category Two or Three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale used in the US.

The last families left Borroloola by noon yesterday as they headed inland. Christine Sauer said only local police and utilities workers remained in the community of about 900 people.

“They’re about to switch off the power and water and they’re leaving, too,” she said.