Major tropical cyclone threatens mine region in Australia’s north

A major storm is strengthening off Australia’s northern coast, threatening to bring destructive winds and heavy rains as it heads for landfall in the North Queensland mining region later this week.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle was about 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) northeast of Cairns as of Wednesday morning local time, packing top sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. It is expected to intensify as it moves west and feeds off warm ocean waters, making landfall on Friday as a Category 4 storm in Australia’s five-step system, the bureau said.

The cyclone is expected to bring heavy rain to a swathe of northern Queensland, potentially including Cairns. While sparsely populated, the region is home to Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc’s bauxite mines, which the bureau expects to be affected by damaging wind gusts from Thursday afternoon. There’s also a potential for dangerous flash flooding and a rapid rise in river levels, Jonathan How of the weather bureau said in a recorded briefing.

After crossing the coast, Narelle is predicted to maintain tropical cyclone intensity as it continues tracking west. It’s forecast to regain strength lost over land, move across the Gulf of Carpentaria and make a second landfall in the Northern Territory on its way toward the city of Darwin. That’s expected on Saturday evening local time, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

(By Mary Hui)