Tropical Cyclone Fina has intensified to a category three system and is tracking towards Darwin. The system is already making its presence felt with residents heeding advice to seek shelter.
00:00Tropical cyclone FINA has intensified to a category 3 system and is tracking towards
00:08Darwin. The system is already making its presence felt with residents heeding advice to seek
00:14shelter. The NT's Power and Water Corporation says several regions in rural Darwin have
00:20already lost power. Crews there are trying to restore services in some districts. The
00:26Chief Minister Leah Finocchiaro has urged people not to panic and to secure outdoor furniture,
00:32bring pot plants inside and listen to the latest updates. She says extra police have been sent to
00:38remote communities and evacuation centres are now open. While all flights in and out of Darwin
00:45Airport have been cancelled, at least for today, the airport says people should monitor for flight
00:51changes in the coming days. We have reporters on the ground for us in the top end. ABC meteorologist
01:00and weather presenter Nate Byrne is there, as well as local reporter Sam Parry, both joining us
01:06from Darwin. We're also going to speak to the Bureau of Meteorology in a few minutes as well.
01:11First, let's head to Nate Byrne. Nate, you've moved inside since we last spoke. The storm is
01:18moving a little bit closer. The impacts are starting to get a bit stronger. Take us through
01:23what we know at the moment about how the system is evolving.
01:29Well, it jumped up to a Category 3 strength this morning. So that's a severe tropical cyclone.
01:35The actual effects on Darwin, though, haven't changed too much because the track has also shifted
01:41slightly away from the city. But we are already feeling it. I mean, from early this morning,
01:46it was fairly light rain, but constant. That's picked up now. We're getting more moderate falls
01:51at times. And the wind gusts are really picking up, Mel. I mean, to the point where at one point
01:57there, when we were last speaking, I was nearly blown over. So that was the perfect opportunity
02:02or the perfect time to find a more secure place. So that's what we've done now. Now, people on the
02:07ground are really starting to feel it. As we were coming back, we passed a cafe with a few people
02:12inside who were local residents and just really waiting for the storm to come. And we even
02:19encountered somebody who was a rough sleeper who didn't know where to go. So I was able to give
02:23them some advice about those emergency centres that are open now and evacuation places that are safe
02:29for people. Here, we're really, really starting to feel it. There are puddles on the roads, debris as
02:34well, palm fronds, small branches, that sort of thing. We even came across a tree that had already
02:39fallen on a car. So we are certainly starting to feel it. And the latest advice is that it's only
02:44going to get worse from here as those destructive wind gusts pushing 155 kilometres an hour start to
02:50descend on Darwin. Absolutely. Things certainly starting to pick up there. Nate Byrne, thank you.
02:55Let's head over to Sam Parry now, who is in the Darwin suburb of Larrakia. Sam, it's looking pretty
03:02wet where you are. What can you tell us about how everyone's feeling there and how preparations are
03:09going? Yeah, Mel, conditions are certainly picking up here. Even just in the last 15 minutes, it's gone
03:15from a steady breeze to now quite a strong and brisk constant breeze with some intense gusts. But
03:23residents here in Darwin have certainly started taking the storm more seriously since it was upgraded
03:29to a Category 3 system early this morning. We had reporters on the ground in the north of the city
03:35and they've told us that residents up there were seemingly being cautious but also were out enjoying
03:44the cooler conditions. People were out cycling in some cases. But other than that, most people are
03:51heeding the advice, heading indoors. I know heading into work this morning, there wasn't much traffic on
03:57the roads around in Darwin. So people are definitely taking that advice. As you said there, power and
04:02water have confirmed. There have been some interruptions to electricity supply. Some traffic
04:07lights around the town have been dropping out. But crews are out working to fix those interruptions as
04:15they pop up. There is a shelter that's been stood up in the city, in State Square, an underground car park
04:22with capacity for about 650 people. And we've been told this morning that already about 15 have headed there to
04:28seek shelter. And at this point that is the advice. It's stay indoors, keep inside and just follow the latest
04:37advice from authorities, Mel.
04:39Alright, Sam Parry, thanks for the update there. That's Sam Parry and Nate Byrne live in Darwin for us. Thank you team for keeping us across the latest.
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