In Brief
- Cyclone Narelle could bring wind gusts of up to 285km/h, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
- Residents in Queensland and the Northern Territory have been urged to stay alert.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle is expected to bring severe impact to Far North Queensland on Friday, as the state's premier says the storm could be the biggest many people have seen in "living memory".
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has been upgraded to a maximum category five system after intensifying in the Coral Sea, producing wind gusts up to 285km/h as the region braces for impact.
The monster storm is expected to make landfall around 7am AEST on Friday near the remote community of Coen, north of Cairns, triggering downpours and gusts that could "blow apart sheds".
Narelle will be just the fourth category five cyclone to cross the Queensland coast in a half a century, Premier David Crisafulli said.
"It's a serious event, a significant event, and we're asking people to take precautions," he told reporters on Thursday.
Residents in the cyclone warning zone extending from Lockhart River south to Cape Tribulation have battened down the hatches as they prepare for potentially deadly weather.
The region is already reeling from flooding after it was impacted by back-to-back tropical lows in recent months.
'You can feel it. Something's coming'
Seven years after a cyclone devastated his remote community, Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher woke up with a funny feeling.
There was no wind or rain about at Lockhart River on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula early on Thursday.
"But you can feel it. Something's coming," Butcher told AAP.
His worst fears were realised when told the biggest cyclone to hit Cape York in more than a century had his community in its sights.
Cyclone Trevor slammed into Lockhart River as a category four system in March 2019, destroying everything in its path.
"It's looking like it's gonna track the same way that bloody Cyclone Trev did. I couldn't sleep last night, I just had that funny feeling," Butcher said.
Seven years to the day, Lockhart River is bracing for Narelle — the first category five system to hit Cape York since Cyclone Mahina killed more than 300 people in March 1899.
As Narelle closes in, the mayor says an informal curfew will be put in place.
A police car will drive the streets, siren on, warning residents it's time to seek shelter.
But there is no community evacuation centre or an emergency centre to monitor the storm.
Locals have been encouraged to move out of timber and demountable homes and into the community's sturdy low-set besser block houses.
"We kind of play everything by ear," Butcher said of their cyclone response.
"The phones will probably be out, so people will have to get the old two-way radios out of the cupboard and get ready for the clean-up."
Lockhart River was on Thursday included in a cyclone warning zone that extended south to Cape Tribulation as they braced for Narelle.
Vulnerable residents evacuated
Vulnerable residents were evacuated, tourists flew out on the last remaining flights and schools were closed.
"I can't sugarcoat this, the damage will be widespread with a system of that size," Crisafulli said.
More than 100 emergency service personnel have been sent north, with police going door-to-door to ensure locals are prepared.
"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 fields of airborne debris," Queensland disaster co-ordinator assistant commissioner Chris Stream said.
"Those types of objects being propelled at over 100km/h will have a fatal outcome."
Rainfall in excess of 500mm was expected from Thursday across Cape York.
Shipping containers of supplies have arrived and emergency generators placed on standby, with the region told it will lose power.
After crossing Cape York, the storm is expected to lash the Northern Territory's Top End and possibly move into Western Australia.
The army is on standby with about 500 people to be evacuated from the NT community of Numbulwar in the coming days.
The remote community was previously evacuated in 2019 when Cyclone Trevor threatened.
A cyclone watch has been issued for parts of the Top End with Narelle expected to cross the NT coast as a category three system on Saturday.
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