Darwin has been battered by destructive winds reaching 205km/h, the most powerful to hit the city since deadly Cyclone Tracy half a century ago, ripping off roofs and tearing a section of the city’s major hospital roof apart.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina passed the coast as a category three overnight, with the weather system’s gale-force winds leaving a path of destruction as it continues west into the ocean.
There are no reports of injuries, however the power remains out across the city.
Part of the roof at the Royal Darwin Hospital has collapsed amid reports there is water inside the building.
Residents in Darwin and surrounds have been ordered by emergency authorities to stay in their homes or emergency shelters until the all-clear is given.
Engineers are on-site assessing the structural integrity of the damaged area at the Royal Darwin Hospital which was damaged overnight by Cyclone Fina
Cyclone Fina has wreaked havoc across the Top End downing trees and powerlines
Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina crossed the coast near Darwin as a category three overnight
Category-three Fina brought destructive winds and heavy downpours to remote Tiwi Islands communities, then Darwin and surrounds on Saturday and into Sunday.
Forecasters currently have Fina tracking just north of Darwin.
NT Police incident controller Kirsten Engels urged residents to stay at home, but the sweeping sheets of rain on the streets and high wind gusts kept pretty much everyone indoors anyway.
Emergency shelters are open in Darwin, nearby Palmerston and adjacent rural areas, with evacuees urged to bring their own bedding and food.
Videos showed the cyclone’s destructive power, ripping a powerline apart and causing a small explosion of sparks.
Powerful winds also brought trees down across the city.
Australian Defence Force personnel are on stand-by to help with the clean-up efforts, and financial assistance will be available to support local governments and communities as they recover.
Fina is the Northern Territory’s strongest cyclone to pass Darwin since Cyclone Tracy in 1974.
Residents have taken to social media to document the damage
Fina could intensify to a category earlier than expected and into the early hours of Monday, according to the latest cyclone track map
The system was more powerful than Cyclone Marcus, which passed Darwin as a category two in 2018.
Now tracking west-south-west, Fina is picking up strength over the Timor Sea and could hit the top of Western Australia in coming days.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest update the system is expected to reach category four strength sooner than expected.
The advice forecasts the cyclone to become a category four system as soon as noon today, and while still in NT waters.
BOM senior meteorologist Angus Hines said Darwin residents should expect more heavy rain and strong winds today.
‘There are still bands of rain and strong winds on the outer edges of this tropical cyclone, which are very likely to impact the Darwin area and other parts of the northern and western Top End of the Northern Territory throughout the day,’ he said.
‘This will be a little bit different to Saturday, where the rainfall was persistent and ongoing.
‘On Sunday it will come through in waves, as a band crosses overhead, and then there’ll be some gaps of drier weather in between.
‘It will still be very windy today … and we could see damaging wind gusts once again across Darwin.’
The Bureau said conditions are forecast to ease through Sunday, after the worst of the damaging winds lasted from about 6pm to about midnight on Saturday.
It is expected to weaken near the Kimberley coast on Tuesday or Wednesday.
