Tropical Cyclone Narelle makes landfall over Coen, residents urged to avoid “false sense of security”

Residents in Far North Queensland are weathering the storm as Tropical Cyclone Narelle passes over the mainland between Coen and the Archer River. Footage taken in Cook Shire on Friday morning shows the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. Cape York residents filmed the strong winds and heavy rains buffeting their home on Friday morning as the storm passed to the south. Residents of Far North Queensland watch on as wild weather lashes the coast. Coen resident and business owner Sara Watkins told Today that their community had already lost power prior to Narelle making landfall on Friday morning, describing the fierce winds ripping through as the storm moved in. “This is absolutely next-level - the last two days everyone has been tidying their yards and taking trailer loads to the local dump so nothing can fly around and damage their property,” she said. “To be honest, it’s been pretty exhausting … and we had a bit of a restless night last well, given the impending doom that’s coming.” Ms Watkins said residents were on edge and were at that stage unsure when the lights would come back on. “Everyone here is on standby to come up when it is safe to do so,” she said. “We can’t pump fuel without it, we’re really reliant on that (power).” Emergency services have spent the past day patrolling the streets to ensure the community was prepared and felt safe, Ms Watkins said. “We’ve had an influx of SES, firefighters, police going around talking to people. We’re all working together to get it done.” ‘Remain where you are’: Urgent warning Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has urged residents of Far North Queensland to “remain exactly where you are” as Narelle begins crossing the coast near Coen. “Right now, we want people to stay where you are, as the system has only just crossed the coast,” Mr Crisafulli said. “In many cases, it will be the strongest wind that people have experienced in this part of the state for a long time... there is a prospect that the eye of the system might pass over the town of Coen,” he said. “If this occurs, people may experiencse a great intensity and then a lag. “It’s really important that people don’t leave their homes if that occurs becuase the back end of that system will be very, very intense as it goes through. Mr Crisafulli said the system would be moving “hard and fast” and that flash flooding was likely to take place across a number of “already very saturated” river and flood catchments. “We’ve already had power lost across that area. There’s over 300 outages. Around 73 of those are in the town of Coen, so there’s still a portion of that town with electricity at the moment,” he said. “I don’t want to sugarcoat this, we are going to experience loss of electircity adn the damage is likely to be significant with a system of this size.” Mr Crisafulli also reassured residents of the affected area that health services had “been prepared” and “positioned accordingly.” “Some of the health services have transitioned to emergency services only, but there is help on the ground.” Mr Crisafulli also said that every school north of the Daintree on both sides of the Cape would be closed and that police had still been going door-to-door in communities like Coen as late as Friday morning. Sustained winds near the centre of the cyclone are expected to reach 195km/h with wind gusts to 270km/h. Narelle was previously forecast to make landfall as a category 5 system, but weakened slightly overnight. Queensland Police Service state disaster co-ordinator Chris Stream said the cyclone being downgraded should not lull residents into a false sense of security. “Those category 4 rains and winds as Matt (Collopy) from the Bureau mentioned are potentially fatal,” he said. “We will still see damage to infrastructure and in particular debris flying around, and at those speeds, as I said, it is potentially fatal.” He urged residents to remain vigilant as the eye of the storm passed over. “Particularly for those residents and communities within that direct impact zone - we will see the winds and rain drop off and then pick up again,” he said. “We will see flash flooding - we are getting reports of isolated areas of heavy rain, although currently, some areas are receiving light rain. “We cannot underestimate the potential risk to life that we will continue to see, and we would expect that the community continue to monitor those warnings and follow the direction of emergency service responders.” Wind speed ‘hard to imagine’ The Bureau of Meteorology’s Angus Hines said Narelle would arrive “imminently” on the east coast of The Cape York Peninsula, bringing widespread damaging to destructive winds and heavy rainfall with a risk of flooding. “Our area in particular of focus for today is across North Queensland,” he said. “The warning area extends from Lockhart River to the north to Cape Flattery in the south, with a crossing point somewhere just north of the community of Coen and across to the western side of the peninsula, we have a warning from Mapoon down to Pormpuraaw, including Weipa through today.” Residents should shelter in place if they can, Mr Hines said, and stay up to date with emergency warnings and emergency warnings as the powerful system crosses The Cape York Peninsula throughout Friday. “A category 4 is still an unusually strong weather system that is capable of producing winds we don’t see in any other weather system around Australia,” he said. “The top wind gusts … right near that crossing point north of Coen could be in excess of 200km/h, potentially as high as 250 km/h. “Winds of that speed are pretty hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced them before, so strong, capable of uprooting large trees or putting – stripping them of their branches.” Queenslanders brace for impact Residents in Far North Queensland are being warned to prepare for “very destructive” wind gusts, heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding as the cyclone makes landfall. Wind gusts in excess of 250 km/h are forecast as the cyclone crosses The Cape York Peninsula coast on Friday morning, the Bureau warns. Destructive wind gusts of up to 160km/h are also likely south of Lockhart River to north of Cape Flattery on Friday morning. Gales with damaging wind gusts of up to 120 km/h are also forecast to extend across Cape York Peninsula, including areas between Mapoon and Pormpuraaw, during Friday. Heavy rainfall which could result in flash flooding and locally intense rainfall is also likely in an area of The Cape York Peninsula bounded by Lockhart River, Cape Flattery, Pormpuraaw, and Weipa during Friday. Tides will also be higher than normal between Coen and Cape Flattery as Narelle approaches the coast, with large waves possible producing minor flooding in low-lying coastal areas. Those in Princess Charlotte Bay are warned tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide, with damaging waves, dangerous flooding and the chance of a dangerous storm tide. Those impacted by the cyclone are being advised to remain in secure shelter, and not to venture outside during the eye of the cyclone. Northern Territory on high alert For those in the NT, the Bureau is warning the cyclone could bring destructive winds, gales, heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Narelle is expected to approach from the east and extend inland to areas including Ngukurr on Saturday night or early Sunday morning. While gales are not expected in coastal areas in the next 24 hours, they are expected to develop in coastal areas between Port McArthur and Nhulunbuy from Saturday afternoon. Very destructive winds are possible near the centre of the cyclone on Saturday night. Heavy rainfall which could lead to flash flooding is possible for coastal and adjacent inland areas over the eastern Top End between Port McArthur and south of Nhulunbuy from late Saturday. Tides will also be higher than normal between Nhulunbuy and Port McArthur later Saturday and Sunday. Large waves could produce minor flooding of low-lying coastal areas, with the potential of a dangerous storm tide between Alyangula and Port Roper as the cyclone centre crosses the coast. Energy technicicans “ready to respond” Energy provider Ergon said there were 200 crew members “ready to respond when it is safe to do so” as widespread power outages are reported across parts of Far North Queensland. “Until damage assessors have eyes on the network, we won’t know how long it will take to restore power. After a cyclone of this intensity, we may be looking at reconstruction rather than repairs. This is why we have been urging remote customers and communities to be prepared for lengthy power outages,” an Ergon spokeswoman said. “We are staging out of the Mareeba depot, where crews are accustomed to supporting remote communities after emergency outages. Our FNQ crews are leaders in disaster response, but this will be a more complicated restoration effort due to the likely extent of damage and access challenges at remote sites,” she said. “Cyclones blow debris into powerlines and falling trees can bring wires down. People need to stay well away from fallen powerlines and report them to emergency services. The first priority for our crews will be to make sites safe for the community.” Aussies urged to ‘bunker down’ On Thursday evening, Mr Crisafulli urged residents in the firing line to “bunker down … and be in the safest room in their house” as the cyclone closes in. “This is a really big system – it’ll be significant. A system this size will cause immense damage and you’ll also have issues with telecommunication. I’m urging people to make sure they’re doing the right thing,” he said. Queensland Police Service state disaster co-ordinator Chris Stream said a lack of preparation could result in serious – or even fatal – consequences. “In particular, the type of wind that is being predicted is the sort of thing that will blow apart sheds, that will blow caravans down roadways, and create … airborne debris,” he said. “Those types of objects being propelled at over 100km/h will have a fatal outcome. “Do not forget that … if you phone triple-0 during a cyclone, it is likely we will not be able to get to you emergency responders – and that includes medical response – because it is unsafe to place those emergency responders out into those types of weather situations.” More to come.