Cyclone Nathan lashed the far north east of Australia’s Northern Territories on Sunday (Mar 22) with high winds and heavy rain, as it passed over the town of Nhulunbuy.
The Category 2 storm recorded winds speeds of more than 65 mph (110kph) and gusts of more than 95 mph (155kph).
On Elcho Island, about 110 kilometres (65 miles) south-west of Nhulunbuy, people sheltered in each others houses in a community still recovering from last month’s Cyclone Lam, local media reported.
“We dont worry about die. The body die, the spirit going to heaven if we do it the right thing,” said Takae, a shopkeeper who refused to close at Wallaby Beach around 10 miles (16km) from Nhulunbuy.
Reports said some communities lost power and others suffered structural damage to their homes.
“When the wind started it was making this huge roaring noise and my furniture on the veranda started flying around everywhere and I looked out the window and there’s my daughter’s house next door with the roof folding itself in two,” Roger Gellett, in Nhulunbuy, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Weather forecasters said Cyclone Nathan is expected to intensify to a category three system in open water early on Monday (March 23) morning before weakening to a category one or two when it makes landfall again on Tuesday (March 24), reports said.
Reuters/AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
