Flood warnings prompt evacuations in NT as Queensland braces for incoming cyclone | Australia weather

Far north Queensland is bracing for a second natural disaster in about a month while flooding has forced people to flee their homes in the Northern Territory.

Meanwhile, a swathe of Western Australia is enduring temperatures approaching 50C.

The system, to be named Kirrily, could reach land as a category 3 cyclone producing winds of up to 165km/h.

“It is still maybe a day away from becoming a cyclone and mid next week it is looking like tracking towards the Queensland coast,” Bureau of Meteorology’s Dean Narramore said.

Exactly where the cyclone could cross the coast is unknown, but Narramore predicted between Cairns and Mackay among a “range of scenarios”.

“In terms of how strong it will be and what time it will reach land … it’s too early to say.”

The bureau has also issued an extreme heatwave warning for the Pilbara and northern Gascoyne regions of WA, where temperatures are expected to reach into the high 40s from Saturday to Monday.

The extreme conditions will extend into parts of the Goldfields and South Interior before gradually easing next week.

In the NT, heavy rainfall is forecast in the vicinity of a slow moving tropical low close to Elliott in the state’s centre, with flash flooding set to develop.

There is a general flood warning for the NT’s Victoria River catchment after almost 100 people were evacuated and more evacuations are set to come.

Updated forecasts on Saturday maintained expectations of intense rain leading to flash flooding, linked to a monsoon trough across the southern Carpentaria.

The heaviest fall in the past 24 hours was 158mm recorded at Whyanbeel Valley, near Port Douglas, while up to 180mm in six hours is possible as the result of a slow-moving tropical low close to Elliott in central NT.

“There is a very widespread flood watch across the Kimberley near the Northern Territory and much of the (Cape York) Peninsula of Queensland,” Narramore said.

Major transport and freight route, the Stuart Highway, is closed at two locations, including between Tennant Creek and Devil Marbles turn-off, with the centre receiving another 100mm of rain in the past 24 hours.

“Locally, intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is also possible with thunderstorms in western and northern parts of the Barkly district, including Tennant Creek, and in the far eastern Gregory district,” the Bureau of Meteorology reported.

Motorists have been stranded, roads cut and people evacuated in the NT with about 40 people from Pigeon Hole, a Bilinara Aboriginal Land Trust settlement, relocated while another 50 at nearby Daguragu left for Kalkarindji.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

Pigeon Hole could be flooded for up to a week.

“Toward Saturday night we will see some particularly heavy rainfall starting to develop to the south of Katherine,” Bradbury said.

“That heavy rainfall over the Victoria River catchment is set to cause further significant river rises over the coming days.”

The low is expected to push toward the Western Australia border, bringing wind and rain to northern parts of the Kimberley.

There have been widespread falls of up to 150mm in the NT.

There are flood watches in place for large parts of the NT including the Top End along with areas in far north Queensland.

“This is telling us that further river rises and flooding impacts are anticipated over the coming days, so it is essential to keep on top of the latest forecasts and warnings by the bureau,” Bradbury said.

The bureau has also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern NSW, warning residents of heavy rain and damaging winds on Saturday evening.