Australia Weather News

Residents in Far North Queensland are cleaning up in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Narelle as the system moves across the Northern Territory.

The cyclone first crossed the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on Friday morning as a severe category four, tracking between Lockhart River and Coen, before moving west, passing south of Weipa and gradually dropping to a category two.

It then picked up intensity overnight in the Gulf, making landfall in the Northern Territory as a category three early on Sunday morning. 

While there are "places of refuge" in Cape York, there are no dedicated cyclone shelters.

The cyclone left the remote community of Lockhart River without power and littered with debris.

Mayor Wayne Butcher said he wants the government to fund a purpose-built disaster shelter in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Narelle.

"I think we've got the whole week … about six or seven days' worth of cleaning up still," Cr Butcher said.

He said power restoration was the community's biggest concern.

Mr Butcher said two large trees, including a mango tree that brought down powerlines, took an entire day to clear.

Trees and powerlines down

Aurukun Shire Council's corporate services manager Lyndon Keane said when Cyclone Narelle moved through the community on the western side of Cape York, it knocked trees onto powerlines.

"It hit reasonably hard and then we had quite a substantial eye," Mr Keane said.

"It's western Cape York in March, so it's about 95 per cent humidity and 33 degrees at the moment, so you can imagine how unpleasant it is in some of the houses with no fans or air conditioning."

Communications were also down in the community.

"The biggest issue for the community is connectivity in terms of people not being able to let their loved ones and other family and friends across the cape and further afield know that they're safe and well," he said.

Mr Keane said the only structural damage that the community suffered was to a barbecue shelter on the foreshore, which was hit by a falling gum tree.

"There's a few fences that have gone but in terms of houses and roofs we are very, very lucky."

Mobile sites down

Almost 300 homes are still without power across Cape York, while Telstra still has four mobile sites down in the region.

Telstra's regional manager Rachel Cliffe said crews restored power to eight sites on Saturday and continue to work "around the clock". 

"Our sleeves are well and truly [rolled] up … staying connected matters more than ever and we know any loss of service is difficult, especially in remote areas," she said. 

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said more settled conditions were expected across the cape on Sunday, though it wouldn't be "completely dry".

"Nothing heavy at this stage, but any further rainfall will flow directly into these very swollen rivers and creeks," he said.

He said the highest falls would likely be on the west coast of the cape, with figures around 10 to 20 millimetres, and isolated falls of up to 30mm.

There is still an active Flood Watch warning for the cape and parts of the North Tropical Coast, and a coastal hazard warning for abnormally high tides on the peninsula's west coast.

'Sounded like a jet engine'

In the remote Cape York community of Aurukun, contractor Steven Keys said the noise was intense when the system passed through.

"It sounded like a jet engine with afterburners," he said.

"[But the] damage could have been a lot worse. It's mainly the electrical infrastructure that's been hit."

Former police officer Andrew Clarkson, who has worked in Aurukun for about 30 years, said he had been speaking with colleagues in the community as the cyclone passed.

"From what I'm hearing, they got a real whipping from the strong winds … they said it just roared," he said.

Traditional owner organisation APN Cape York said nearby homelands, including sites such as Blue Lagoon, which is used for cultural camps, would need to be assessed to determine the impact.

Homelands are typically only accessible by helicopter during the wet season, so assessments are likely to be delayed until conditions improve.

The organisation said it was monitoring the situation and would work with Aurukun Shire Council to support clean-up efforts on affected homelands.

Jayson Watkin and Katie Goodwin had their business The Temple Cape York affected but said it was not their "first rodeo".

"We live with cyclones up here," Mr Watkin said.

He said the damage was extensive, but because of how remote they are, not much can be done for now.

"It's a category five cyclone … plenty of damage," he said.

"We've lost guttering, we've lost a bit of iron off the roof of the shed, heaps of trees down.

"It took about an hour with the chainsaw just to get out the front door this morning because there's a big tree come down and took out our service pole for our power."

About 200 kilometres north in Weipa, strong winds tore off the Carpentaria Golf Club's electrical board and felled trees.

President Len McKinley said although they were prepared, it was "bigger winds and rain" than what they were expecting, and it could be a month or so until the course reopened.

"There's still powerlines down on the course, there's trees over powerlines. It's a no-go zone at the moment," he said.

The cyclone is predicted to lose intensity to category one by 10am on Sunday, before tracking towards Katherine in the NT as a tropical low by Sunday night.