‘Triple whammy’ expected from twin cyclones as evacuations increase
Australia’s north is bracing for coastal crossings of two dangerous cyclones in coming days, as the Northern Territory conducts its biggest pre-storm evacuation and the Pilbara’s iron-ore ports prepare for a hammering.
Tropical Cyclone Trevor, which crossed the Cape York peninsula this week, was expected to reintensify into a category-four strength tempest by yesterday afternoon with ‘‘very destructive winds’’ reaching gusts of 275 kmh. It is forecast to cross the Northern Territory’s Gulf coastline near Borroloola this afternoon.
Off Western Australia, Cyclone Veronica has already reached category-4 strength with wind gusts of 260 kmh, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The storm is expected strengthen to a category-5 event as it pivots towards the coast between Karratha and Port Hedland, with gusts nearing 320 kmh. A crossing is expected on Sunday.
‘‘We do have like a triple whammy of long duration, heavy rain [bringing] flooding risk and storm tides,’’ said Joe Courtney, a bureau cyclone meteorologist based in Perth, referring to Cyclone Veronica.
Both Trevor and Veronica will approach the coasts as tides reach their highest levels this year.
Cyclone Trevor had already caused flooding and structural damage in the Lockhart River region on Tuesday as it moved through. Enoch Perazim, manager of Lockhart River Arts Indigenous Corporation, said the area’s art centre had part of its roof stripped off.
‘‘The sound was so loud, it was as though there was a war going on outside,’’ he said.
About 1000 residents have already been evacuated from the Gulf of Carpentaria’s Groote Eylandt and the town of Numbulwar and other centres likely to be affected by Cyclone Trevor.
The Northern Territory’s Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Thursday declared a state of emergency for the Gulf country, saying it was the largest evacuation of people in advance of a cyclone in the territory’s history.
‘‘All cyclones in this area are unpredictable and make the situation complex and dynamic,’’
‘‘The sound was so loud, it was as though there was a war going on outside.’’
Enoch Perazim, Lockhart River
Gunner said. ‘‘The severity of the storm, the significant threat it poses, and the complications that come from the remoteness of the area, led to the [evacuation decision],’’ he said.
Selena Uibo, the local MP for Arnhem, said many of those being evacuated would be taken to Katherine, about 450km from the coastal towns.
‘‘The severity and seriousness of the issue is absolutely getting through to people,’’ she said.
The two storms bring to eight the number of named storms in the Australian region this summer, the bureau said.
Of those, three have made landfall – all on Cape York Peninsula – including Trevor.
Category-5 events are not uncommon, with Cyclone Marcus in March last year the most recent.
The most recent occasion of two category-4 storms in the Australian region at the same time was in 2015 with Cyclone Lam hitting the Northern Territory and Cyclone Marcia crossing the Queensland coast. That was also the first recording of two cyclones of such strength crossing the coast on the same day, the bureau said.
Veronica ‘‘is notable for its rapid intensification in the last 24 hours,’’ Courtney said. ‘‘[It’s] not unprecedented but it’s pushing the edges of how a cyclone can intensify.
‘‘And we’re expecting to see that with Trevor as well coming off the Cape York Peninsula,’’ he said.
Climate scientists have flagged the speed that cyclones – or hurricanes or typhoons – intensify as likely to quicken with global warming. Warmer sea-surface temperatures, which provide the energy for storms, is one factor.
Of the two storms, Cyclone Veronica may be more disruptive for the economy depending on how it affects the major iron-ore exporting ports in the Pilbara.
Both BHP and Rio Tinto, two of the biggest exporters, were scaling back operations as they await further forecasts of Cyclone Veronica’s track.
BHP was expected to reduce staff from Port Hedland yesterday while Rio was already taking steps.
‘‘Safety is our top priority and we continue to monitor the movement of the cyclone,’’ a Rio spokesman said.
‘‘As a precautionary measure, the ports of Cape Lambert and Dampier are being cleared.’’
A spokesman for Port Hedland council said that facilities such as the town’s landfill, Civic Centre and depot were being secured.