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Schools across Darwin will close tomorrow as emergency services work to restore power and water in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Marcus.
Key points:
- More than 26,000 homes without power
- 400 powerlines down and telecommunications not working
- Residents urged to boil drinking water
Forecasters described the category-two cyclone as the strongest in 30 years, which left more than a third of Darwin properties without power.
This morning, Tropical Cyclone Marcus hit the Kimberly coast near the remote community of Kalumburu as a category-two system.
It was announced Sunday morning that schools across Darwin and Palmerston will be closed on Monday as a precautionary measure.
The public service will work on a skeleton staff and all three Charles Darwin University campuses will close tomorrow.
There are 60,000 properties across Darwin, and 23,000 still have no electricity.
Residents will have to wait until at least Wednesday to get reconnected.
More than 500 reports have been received of trees on power lines and fallen power lines, and hundreds of large trees have been strewn across roads, blocking access to many of Darwin's streets.
Power and Water said crews from Alice Springs and Katherine were being deployed to Darwin to help restore power to the region.
Traffic lights across Darwin also remain out, so drivers are urged to take caution on the roads.
Residents have been urged by the Health Department to drink bottled water or boil water and let it cool before drinking or using for cooking or oral hygiene, as it may be contaminated.
Power and Water says extensive tests of Darwin's water system will begin today, but results could take 48 hours to come back.
Telstra said 2,000 fixed-line services had been disrupted in Darwin and surrounding areas.
ADSL and mobiles services are also affected across a number of areas including Berry Springs, Dundee Beach, Wagait Beach, Howard Springs, Karama, Parap and Moil.
Homes have been trashed and river systems have risen, trapping some isolated communities.
A flood watch is current with possible falls of up to 150mm over the next 24 hours.
Darwin Bunnings has sold out of chainsaws and generators.
Surveys of the damage are still preliminary and it will be days before the total cost of repairs will be known.
Darwin saw persistent gale-force winds of over 62 kilometres per hour for six hours, and recorded a maximum wind gust of 130 kilometres per hour while Marcus was passing overhead on Saturday.
Dum-In-Mirrie received 156mm of rain, while Gunn Point received 135mm.
Emergency response underway
Residents have been urged to be patient and to avoid travelling across the city as hundreds of emergency personnel, police, essential services staff and the Defence Force clear the streets from today.
Crews worked through the night to reopen roads to Darwin's critical infrastructure like the hospital and airport.
NT Emergency Services chief officer Jason Collins urged those cleaning up to wear proper footwear and goggles for those using chainsaws.
Those using generators should make sure the area was ventilated.
He also advised people to stay away from waterways and not to drive through floodwaters.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner commended the region on its community spirit, but noted some "may have got a bit complacent" in their preparations.
"We want to get the Territory up and going open for business after this event as soon as possible, but we are going to take a safety-first approach," he said.
"There are hundreds of people out there at the moment working really hard to make the Top End safe again."
He said emergency services had a list of vulnerable people who required power for medical reasons, but urged anyone who was concerned to get in touch.
Looting concerns police
A number of Darwin business owners said they have arrived at work to find their properties looted in the aftermath of tropical cyclone Marcus.
Nursery owner Estelle Cornell said she couldn't believe it when she came to work and found the place raided.
"I've been not only taken out by the cyclone but also robbed," she said.
Darwin Police Regional Manager Warren Jackson said people could try to take advantage of shops closing their doors.
"Crime is always a concern in an emergency situation," he said.
Business reopens, events cancelled
The AFL NT grand finals have been postponed, which were scheduled for this afternoon.
The eight finals have been postponed either to Wednesday if the ground is cleared, or Saturday March 24.
Otherwise all eight divisions will have dual premiers and clubs will share honours.
No decision on rescheduling the eight finals has been made yet and AFLNT representatives will meet with stakeholders Sunday morning to plan the completion of the season.
All flights resumed scheduled times at Darwin Airport from 4.15am Sunday.
A commercial vessel left the Darwin Port at 10am this morning, after a channel check was completed.
The port received no structural damage.
Some neighbourhood markets such as Nightcliff have been cancelled, but Rapid Creek markets opened.
Casuarina Square will resume normal trading hours today.
Shoal Bay Waste Management facility opened Sunday 7am, however residents have reported large traffic jams getting into the facility.
"Don't get me wrong we are moving, but it's a pretty bumper to bumper situation," a caller told ABC Radio Sunday morning.
"The roads are pretty crazy so if you don't need to do it don't do it."
Another cyclone possible
As the clean-up gets underway, Darwin is also bracing for the threat of another cyclone, as a tropical low could form north of the Territory this week.
The Northern Territory Bureau of Meteorology was keeping a close eye on the monsoon trough developing in the Arafura sea that could form into another cyclone near Darwin midweek.
Forecaster Sally Cutter says it's hard to know which way it will go and how strong it could be.
"It's going to depend exactly where it forms in the trough. It could come through central parts of Top End, could pass close to Gove, or if it forms far enough east go through gulf of Carpentaria and [it could] have little impact," she said.
"But it's still a bit over a week out and the guide at this isn't clear so we are just keeping a very, very close eye on it."
Looking to the future
Mr Gunner said he would support the removal of African Mahoganys from the Darwin area.
The exotic tree had caused extensive damage throughout the region when they fell during the storm.
But he said the move would need council support, as many of the trees were on council land.
During a press conference Sunday morning, deputy chief minister Nicole Manison said the Power and Water Corporation may look at a previous plan about supplying an underground power network, given the extensive outages.
However, she said this was caused by a range of factors, not only the overhead powerlines.
"There has been a previous power program around underground power. We know we have got around 25,000 homes now without power. It's for a range of reasons though, not just because of overhead powerlines," she said.
"[We] will certainly be looking to see how can we ensure we deliver a more robust power network going into the future."
Photo:
Numerous houses throughout Darwin had tree damage after the cyclone. (ABC News: Neda Vanovac)
Topics: cyclone, weather, darwin-0800, nt
First posted