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NT Police have rescued two people and are urging residents to stay indoors as Tropical Cyclone Marcus moves past Darwin as a category two system.
Key points:
- Cyclone shelters have opened across the city
- Residents should activate their household plan now to ensure their family and friends stay safe
- Police have advised people stay off the road
The NT water police entered the water in gale-force conditions to save two people that were onboard boats when their moorings came loose and collided at the Dinah Beach boat ramp.
There were concerns one boat was taking on water.
One of the two on the boat was in their 60s and had a respiratory problem.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the core of the cyclone is now over Bynoe Harbour, and conditions were beginning to ease around Darwin.
The destructive winds from the system caused outages across the city and brought down trees, blocking roads.
At Coolalinga, a tree fell onto a gas cylinder at a petrol station, sparking an evacuation of the surrounding area.
There were also reports of downed power lines.
The Department of Health issued a boil water alert for all residents, due to the multiple water outages.
Everyone has been asked to boil water as the extent of the water contamination in unknown
It is anticipated that a boil alert will remain in place for at least 48 hours.
No public transport was operating because of public safety.
A storm tide between Dundee Beach and Gunn Point is expected as the cyclone centre moves across the Darwin coastline.
Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide, with damaging waves and dangerous flooding this morning.
Destructive winds with gusts greater than 150 kilometres per hour may develop over the Kimberley coast later on Sunday, affecting the WA towns of Kununurra and Wyndham.
In any life-threatening situation, call 000.
Region on high alert
The category two winds may briefly develop over Dundee beach before easing this afternoon as the cyclone moves south-west, along the Darwin coastline.
Gales with gusts to 110 kilometres per hour are along the coast between Cape Hotham and Dundee Beach and southern parts of the Tiwi Islands.
They may extend further south to Wadeye by early Sunday morning.
Tides will be higher than normal between Wadeye and Dundee Beach, including Darwin, and along the south coast of the Tiwi Islands.
Large waves may produce minor flooding of low-lying coastal areas today and tonight as the cyclone moves past.
Residents from Cockatoo Island to Mitchell Plateau should remain on alert.
Shelters open across city
Shelters opened across Darwin for those with nowhere else to go to wait out the cyclone.
These are located at Berry Springs Primary School, Casuarina Senior College, Cox Peninsula Community Government council office, Dripstone Middle School, Girraween Primary School, Nightcliff Middle School, Palmerston Senior College, Rosebery Primary and Middle School, the Supreme Court building and Taminmin College.
Carparks at Casuarina Square Shopping Centre, Palmerston Hub Complex, Holiday Inn Esplandade and Palmerston Shopping Centre will also be open.
Services, events suspended
All flights to and from Darwin have been cancelled, until at least midnight.
Public transport is not operating and people are being advised to stay off the road.
Casuarina Square closed for trading today.
The Northern Territory Electoral Commission postponed the Palmerston Council election for a week.
The Tiwi Islands Football grand final has also been postponed for a week until March 25.
AFL NT confirmed Saturday's grand final set will be postponed until Sunday, contingent on the weather.
Even though the Parap markets were cancelled, one man came along to sell flowers anyway.
He wasn't going to let Tropical Cyclone Marcus force him to miss the markets for the first time in 38 years.
"I have a lot of regular customers and I have a lot of orders to deliver today. So I can't just abandon those people," he said
Topics: cyclone, weather, community-and-society, nt
First posted