Hundreds of people have been evacuated from a small Northern Territory town as Cyclone Lam makes its way towards land.
Emergency Services decided early on Thursday that the 430 people in Warruwi on Goulburn Island should be moved to the mainland before the category three system struck.
It moved southwest all night, and getting people out became a priority before the winds became too dangerous.
But at 4am, the air around Warruwi was very still, resident Marcus Bohl-Vandenboogaard said.
He flew out on the second plane with his toddler son and the community's pregnant women, the elderly, and children.
Eighteen small planes and two helicopters have been shuttling between Warruwi and Darwin, about 300km southwest, and by early afternoon on Thursday about half the people had arrived at the emergency shelter at the Darwin Showgrounds.
"It was pretty loud, black, raining, big wind blowing," resident Evelyn Gaykamangu told AAP.
It was the first time in 26 years on the island that she has had to leave for a cyclone.
"For me it's scary. I don't like to hear thunder and lightning. I was covering myself up with my pillow," she said.
She was concerned for her mother and sisters in her home community of Milingimbi, which has not yet been evacuated.
Her 17-year-old son is in Galiwinku on Elcho Island, which is just east of Lam's projected path.
"I rang him up this morning. My heart was beating so hard," she said.
Emergency Services have deemed both communities have appropriate shelters to withstand the cyclone.
It's not yet clear what path the cyclone might take, but Mr Bohl-Vandenboogaard said if it did hit, the damage could be catastrophic.
He said the houses "are not even up to having a breeze blow through them".
"It's huge, it's massive," he said of Cyclone Lam.
"If it decides to come down to this tiny little island ..."
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