Cyclone Carlos strafes Australia's northern coast
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The Northern Territory is the latest region of Australia to be struck down by extraordinary wild weather.
Tropical Cyclone Carlos is moving along the far northern coastline on Thursday, inundating urban centers and wreaking further havoc on a country that has already taken a summer beating at the hands of natural disasters.
Early reports of gale force winds and widespread flooding are coming in from Darwin, the Territory capital city.
Official estimates have Darwin already taking in more than 600 millimetres of rain, effectively severing main transport arteries and impacting low-lying residences. Max Pahlow from Auckland, one of many travelers cut off by the storm told Xinhua at 8 am (AEST) Australian Eastern Standard Time, "They've told us to dig in everything looks closed and its pretty much carnage outside.. I don't know when we will be able to get out of here."
Schools and public centers have been closed since late Wednesday, as has the busy regional airport.
The Australian meteorological center has the storm heading towards the Kimberley Mountain range away from Darwin in a southern push, maintaining its strong Category 1 cyclone rating.
However, the city is till being hammered by rain and powerful gusts. Welfare centers have been opened for residents fleeing low-lying areas but authorities said there was no need to open overnight cyclone shelters.
The ABC last night reported police closing licensed premises to discourage drinking during the extreme weather.
Darwin and the wider Northern Territory has a notorious reputation as a region for heavy drinking, with a large dependent homeless population.
Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that there were homeless people wandering the streets outside Darwin's main hotel center until late last night, and police say people are continuing to ignore warnings about staying out of flood-waters.
However, the Darwin Showground has been turned into an emergency accommodation center for up to 200 homeless people.
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