{"id":302797,"date":"2025-11-23T04:16:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T04:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/302797\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T04:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T04:16:20","slug":"cyclone-fina-live-updates-system-likely-to-intensify-to-category-four-over-water-sooner-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/302797\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclone Fina live updates: System likely to intensify to category four over water sooner than expected"},"content":{"rendered":"

3h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 12:23amHow can I stay up to date?\"Georgie<\/p>\n

2m agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 4:14am<\/p>\n

Watering hole reopens amid wet weather\"Gemma<\/p>\n

ABC Darwin reporter Jack Hislop is out in Palmerston, speaking to Territorians.<\/p>\n

With businesses reopening across the region, he says some have wasted no time getting back to the pub.<\/p>\n

There’s already groups of punters in the beer garden at The Palm, including Alan ‘Blue Dog’ Pooley.<\/p>\n

Alan\u00a0knocked over a few hours of work this morning, before venturing out for a few schooners just after 10am.<\/p>\n

\"A(ABC News: Jack Hislop)<\/p>\n

20m agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 3:55am<\/p>\n

Tiwi Islands report tree and powerline damage\"Tilda<\/p>\n

Tiwi Islands resident Quoc Hung Nguyen says while there’s been trees uproot, he thinks everyone is shaken, but ok.<\/p>\n

\"AnQuoc Hung Nguyen resides on Bathurst Island. (Supplied: Quoc Hung Nguyen)<\/p>\n

On Bathurst Island, he took refuge in a residence on the north side of the island, but said most people spent the night in dedicated cyclone shelters.<\/p>\n

“Some [people] really feel terrified, because the trees fell down on their house.”<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

He says power is out on the island, but he’s hoping its restored soon, while cleanup gets underway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is a good opportunity because I have a chance to spend time with people in happiness or in dangers, it’s an unpredictable time but we are here with the people.”<\/p>\n

“We cannot do anything, but go with them in this time, and I feel apart of this community, which is the big thing for me.”<\/p>\n

\"TreePower lines are down across the Tiwi Islands. (Supplied: Quoc Hung Nguyen)<\/p>\n

33m agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 3:42am<\/p>\n

Can we get a round of applause for our frontliners?\"Gemma<\/p>\n

\u00a0Police, firefighters, paramedics and numerous\u00a0volunteers have been hard at work keeping the community safe this weekend.<\/p>\n

Members of our audience have reached out to express their thanks to the authorities, saying red tape has been cut to allow clean-up efforts to begin quickly.<\/p>\n

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro is also grateful to see the community banding together.<\/p>\n

“In true territory spirit, neighbours are coming out with chainsaws and everyone’s chipping in,” she says.<\/p>\n

“That’s really special and important.<\/p>\n

“Our emergency services need space to do what they need to do, but there’s always room for community spirit and people just need to really assess the risk.<\/p>\n

“We don’t need any heroics \u2014 we have professionals, who are our heroes, and they’re out there doing the really tough stuff.”<\/p>\n

44m agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 3:32amWhether schools will reopen tomorrow to be decided ‘school by school’\"Alicia<\/p>\n

Regarding\u00a0schools, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said principals had been asked to visit their schools and make assessments “school by school” on whether they were ready to reopen tomorrow.<\/p>\n

She said those decisions would be communicated to parents this afternoon, “so that all families have certainty around what tomorrow looks like”.<\/p>\n

“Families are really keen to understand whether or not they’ll be sending their children to school tomorrow, and we very much want to make sure that we are returning to business as usual in a safe and measured way,” she said.<\/p>\n

50m agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 3:25am<\/p>\n

Almost 20,000 homes and businesses lost power during TC Fina\"Georgie<\/p>\n

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro also said about 19,500 homes and businesses had\u00a0lost power\u00a0over the past 24 hours, with crews working to restore power as\u00a0soon as possible.<\/p>\n

More information on how long that could take should come this afternoon, she said, but warned that “it could be days”.<\/p>\n

“I’m hopeful by the end of this afternoon there should be much clearer communication coming from Power and Water to Territorians, around what type of lengths of time each suburb might have to sit tight and be ready to endure, given the outages they’re particularly experiencing,” she said.<\/p>\n

She said restoring power at schools would be priority.<\/p>\n

58m agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 3:17amChief minister thanks Territorians for heeding advice\"Alicia<\/p>\n

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has just provided an update at a press conference from a rainy Smith Street in the Darwin CBD.<\/p>\n

She said warnings had now been reduced and “we want Territorians to be going back to their business as usual”.<\/p>\n

“There remains to be significant debris, trees down, and even powerlines [down],\u00a0 but Territorians who need to move about for essential reasons … and other necessary travel are encouraged to do safely,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I just want to thank Territorians for how well they have cooperated and heeded all of the advice from our officials.”<\/p>\n

“This cyclone saw a territory that was united and prepared for what was to come, and as a result we’ve seen largely minimal impact and no injuries.”<\/p>\n

1h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 3:07am<\/p>\n

Fallen trees trigger power outages around Darwin\"Gemma<\/p>\n

ABC Darwin reporter Sam Parry visited Anastasios and Savvina Halipilias in the city’s northern suburbs this morning.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

The locals are assessing the damage around their\u00a0Casuarina home after a large gumtree fell onto the carport at around 8pm last night.<\/p>\n

The tree also brought down a power line, and electricity remains disconnected\u00a0in the area.<\/p>\n

Mr Halipilias has been advised not to begin clearing the uprooted tree until Power and Water can assess the situation.<\/p>\n

\"A(ABC News: Sam Parry)\"A(ABC News: Sam Parry)\"A(ABC News: Sam Parry)\"A(ABC News: Sam Parry)<\/p>\n

1h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 2:54am<\/p>\n

Repair crews are hard at work!\"Gemma<\/p>\n

Power and Water Corporation workers are out and about this morning, working to repair infrastructure after homes lost power overnight.<\/p>\n

There’s boots on the ground and a wheel dozer clearing debris at\u00a0Stuart Park, in Darwin’s inner city.<\/p>\n

Click here to find out<\/a> which suburbs are still experiencing power outages, and if there’s an estimated time they’ll be reconnected.<\/p>\n

\"A(ABC News: Sam Parry)\"A(ABC News: Sam Parry)\"Workers(ABC News: Sam Parry)<\/p>\n

In a social media post this morning, Power and Water explained “many homes and businesses” were left without power.<\/p>\n

“Our crews are out assessing the damage,” the post says.<\/p>\n

“Please stay clear of power lines and fallen trees and follow the advice of SecureNT.<\/p>\n

“We will provide more information when we have a clear picture of damage.<\/p>\n

“To report a dangerous situation, such as a fallen powerline, call us on 1800 245 090.”<\/p>\n

1h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 2:42am<\/p>\n

Locals say TC Fina was more intense than 2018 cyclone\"Gemma<\/p>\n

ABC meteorologist Nate Byrne has been chatting to locals about this weekend’s extreme weather event.<\/p>\n

Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina\u00a0left a trail of fallen trees in its wake, and some Darwinites say the system felt more intense than TC Marcus when it hit in 2018.<\/p>\n

“This one was a bit harsher,” one local told the ABC.<\/p>\n

“I think this is worse, when we compare [it] with Marcus.”<\/p>\n

Loading…1h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 2:28amDarwin Airport reopens\"Gemma<\/p>\n

In breaking news, Darwin Airport has now reopened to travellers, less than 24 hours after the city was hit by Tropical Cyclone Fina.<\/p>\n

Dozens of passengers who were waiting outside have now poured through the doors.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the lines outside shortly before the reopening.<\/p>\n

\"AThe crowd of travellers outside Darwin Airport this morning waiting for the airport to reopen. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)<\/p>\n

1h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 2:27am<\/p>\n

More rain on the way for Darwin as storm moves to south-west\"Georgie<\/p>\n

ABC News Channel has just spoken with\u00a0BOM Senior forecaster Dean Narramore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says the severe category three system is about\u00a0100 kilometres west of Darwin\u00a0now and continue to move away around 8 or 9 kilometres an hour to the south-west.<\/p>\n

“So we’re still seeing the outer bands of the cyclone moving over western and northern parts of the Top End, including around Darwin, and that’s bringing showers and gusty winds at times and some bursts of heavier rainfall,” he says.<\/p>\n

“And that’s what’s going to continue through the day into the afternoon today for much of the north western part of the Top End, including Darwin, could see gusts 50- 60 kilometres an hour in some of these bands, maybe some even up to 70, and we’ll get some bursts of heavy rainfall.”<\/p>\n

There will likely be another\u00a050 to 100 millimetres\u00a0of rain in the Top End in the next day or so.<\/p>\n

“So that’s going to cause more inconvenience and probably lead to additional areas of flash flooding because things are so wet right now.”<\/p>\n

1h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 2:21am<\/p>\n

Huge palm tree falls on building’s roof\"Alicia<\/p>\n

The owners of Darwin’s National Storage business, near Fisherman’s Wharf on the harbour, woke this morning to a huge palm tree smashed into their roof.<\/p>\n

Here are some pictures of the damage:<\/p>\n

\"ACyclone Fina blew this huge palm tree onto the roof of the two-storey National Storage building. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)\"AThe tree has damaged the building’s roof. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)<\/p>\n

Reporting by Matt Garrick<\/p>\n

2h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 2:05am<\/p>\n

Nightcliff Resilience Tree finally falls\"Alicia<\/p>\n

\u00a0Nightcliff locals have been gathering at the Nightcliff Foreshore this morning to mourn the loss of the iconic Resilience Tree.<\/p>\n

The gum had been hanging onto its clifftop perch for dear life for years and became something of a local landmark.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the tree was no match for Cyclone Fina – but the Nightcliff community’s resilience remains as strong as ever.<\/p>\n

Here’s the tree before and after the cyclone:<\/p>\n

\"AThe Resilience Tree before Cyclone Fina. (ABC News: Olivana Lathouris)\"AThe fallen Resilience Tree after the cyclone. (ABC News: Olivana Lathouris)<\/p>\n

Reporting by Olivana Lathouris.<\/p>\n

2h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 1:48am<\/p>\n

Yacht stranded by storm on Darwin beach\"Alicia<\/p>\n

At Dinah Beach near the city, locals have been coming down to check out a yacht stranded by Cyclone Fina.<\/p>\n

There were also a couple of other sunken vessels out in the mangroves and a few tinnies washed up on the rocks.<\/p>\n

Steven Chin and his son Archer Lopez Chin were among the locals stopping by to check out the scene.<\/p>\n

“Just having a bit of a sticky beak, doing what locals do,” Mr Chin said.<\/p>\n

“True Territorian valet parking I suppose, eh?”<\/p>\n

\"AThe stranded yacht on Dinah Beach. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)\"ASteven Chin and Archer Lopez Chin at Dinah Beach. (ABC News: Matt Garrick)<\/p>\n

Reporting by Matt Garrick<\/p>\n

2h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 1:33am<\/p>\n

Weather continues to impact flights\"Gemma<\/p>\n

What is the situation with flights today and the airport?<\/p>\n

– Nishan<\/p>\n

Great question, Nishan!<\/p>\n

We’ve been working to contact the airport in Darwin this morning, but so far all we have to go off is this social media post.<\/p>\n

Travellers should check with airlines about flight schedules and cancellations, as the Top End continues to experience “strong prevailing winds and heavy rain” from the weather system.<\/p>\n

A number of\u00a0Airnorth flights were cancelled yesterday, with more postponed today.<\/p>\n

“Our Sunday, 23 November flying schedule has been postponed until further notice,” Airnorth’s social media says.<\/p>\n

“Please do not proceed to the airport.<\/p>\n

“Airnorth will contact passengers on Sunday morning with an update on revised flight times.”<\/p>\n

2h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 1:30am<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: Tropical Cyclone Fina forecast to ease before hitting northern WA coast\"Georgie<\/p>\n

3h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 1:15am<\/p>\n

Vision of damage around Darwin\"Gemma<\/p>\n

Powerlines and trees are down across the city after Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina pushed damaging winds and heavy rain across parts of the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n

Take a look at some of the videos from around Darwin this weekend.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

3h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 1:06am<\/p>\n

Darwin and Wurrumiyanga alert level downgraded\"Alicia<\/p>\n

The\u00a0alert level\u00a0for\u00a0Darwin\u00a0and the\u00a0Tiwi Islands\u00a0community of\u00a0Wurrumiyanga\u00a0has been downgraded to\u00a0advice, with the\u00a0NT Emergency Service\u00a0(NTES) advising there is a\u00a0decreasing threat.<\/p>\n

Advice is the lowest level of alert under the Australian Warning System<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In its update, the NTES warned people in Darwin and\u00a0Wurrumiyanga not to enter flood waters, and to keep clear of fallen powerlines, fallen trees, damaged buildings and debris.<\/p>\n

It also advised drivers to take extra care on the roads, drive slowly and be aware of emergency services personnel who may be working in the area.<\/p>\n

The service said no further updates were needed for Darwin,\u00a0Wurrumiyanga or Wagait Beach at this time.<\/p>\n

3h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 12:54am<\/p>\n

Can we access the hospital?\"Gemma<\/p>\n

NT Health is reminding everyone to only attend\u00a0Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n

That means steering clear of visits to friends and family, until it’s safe to do so.<\/p>\n

It comes after part of the ceiling at RDH collapsed overnight, with a wooden panel covering part of the building this morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For anyone looking to access advice on the weather event, an emergency hotline is active from 7am to 7pm: 1800 888 901.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3h agoSun 23 Nov 2025 at 12:23amHow can I stay up to date? 2m agoSun 23 Nov 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[172851,145729,170039,172850,5249,43,160,17282,44,8867,41,39,42,40,170024],"class_list":["post-302797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-category-three","tag-cyclone","tag-cyclone-fina","tag-cyclone-tracey","tag-darwin","tag-headlines","tag-live-blog","tag-live-coverage","tag-news","tag-northern-territory","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-tropical-cyclone-fina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}