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Hundreds of isolated Australians in the Top End woke up to a trail of destruction after Tropical Cyclone Megan wreaked havoc overnight.
The Northern Territory town of Borroloola was in the crosshairs when the cyclone made landfall on the southwest coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria on Monday evening as a severe Category 3 system.
It was a sleepless night for the 700 residents of the town who were to be evacuated on Monday.
But Cyclone Megan moved faster than expected, bringing winds of up to 200km/h and heavy rain which prevented RAAF planes from landing.
Instead, stranded residents were ordered to hunker down at the local police station, the town’s health facility, or one of dozens of homes capable of withstanding a category three system. .
Heavy rain is forecast to hit northern Australia over the next 36 hours.
Residents had not yet been able to see the extent of the damage Tuesday morning.
“It was a bit windy and windy last night around midnight. It’s still dark right now, so you can’t see much,” Borroloola resident Brad told Sunrise.
“It was quite noisy with a lot of rain.
“Once the sun rises, we will take a look around us and know the extent of the damage. »
Megan is expected to continue moving inland to the southwest on Tuesday before weakening to a tropical depression in the morning, when it will likely move westward.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that the city will experience maximum wind gusts of up to 130 km/h and a 24-hour rainfall total of more than 200 mm.
An evacuation of the McArthur River Mine was also canceled due to the conditions.
Defense force personnel remain on standby to assist with recovery on Tuesday, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Sonia Kennon said.
People in isolated communities across the Northern Territory have yet to see the full extent of the damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan.
Heavy rain and flash flooding are forecast Tuesday morning in parts of Carpentaria and northern Barkly.
Six-hour rainfall totals of between 80 and 150mm are likely, with a 24-hour rainfall total of up to 200mm and wind gusts of over 90km/h.
The cyclone warning zone extends for hundreds of kilometers along the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Nearly 600mm of rain fell on Groote Eylandt over the weekend as the severe weather system moved over isolated island communities.
The GEMCO manganese mine dock was damaged by one of its ships carrying manganese and fuel.
NT Police said there was no leak and authorities were working to remove the vessel from the dock.
Wild weather forced the cancellation of an evacuation in Borroloola, forcing residents to hunker down for the night.