Cyclone Hammers the Kimberley Coast
Cyclone George was last night unleashing strong winds along the Kimberley coastline, with widespread flooding causing damage to towns in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. At 5pm CST time yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a cyclone warning for communities between Beagle Bay and Wyndham, in Western Australia. The cyclone was moving west at 14km/h with 100km/h gusts in the centre.
Off the Queensland coast, Cyclone Odette weakened into a tropical low yesterday afternoon and meteorologists said it posed no immediate threat to the coast. Centred about 850km northeast of Mackay, the storm will create large ocean swells and continue moving slowly but is not expected to develop again into a cyclone.
Freight trains and the Ghan heading to Darwin were being stopped at the Katherine terminal after the track was engulfed by water at two places south of Adelaide River.
The track is expected to be impassable for several days, and freight unloaded at Katherine will be taken to Darwin by road as soon as the rain eases. John Fullerton, CEO of FreightLink, said the company had been caught out by the unexpectedly "extreme"' weather conditions.
Mr Fullerton said the track's design was based on a century of weather data that was enough to keep the track open during last year's cyclone and serious flooding at Katherine.
"This is the first time the track has been closed ... It's a very unusual weather system ... The track has been designed for 100-year flood events based on historical data in the territory." Less than 12 months after a state of emergency was declared in Katherine following damaging floodwaters, police yesterday placed the local residents in low-lying areas on flood watch as the Katherine River approached 14m.
James Willis posted at 3/05/2007 09:01:00 AM
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