NT: Australia's northwest on cyclone alert

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2009
NT: Australia's northwest on cyclone alert

BRISBANE, Dec 13 AAP - Communities along West Australia's north have been put on alert
as the first cyclone of the season bears down on the Kimberley coast.

Category 1 storm, Cyclone Laurence, formed on Sunday and is currently hovering 275
kilometres west of Darwin.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said 250 millimetres fell in Darwin in the 24 hours
to 9am (CST), three millimetres more than the average for December.

The rain and a king tide flooded the city, with half a metre of water over western
suburbs including Ludmilla, Coconut Grove, The Gardens and The Wharf Precinct.

The storm also brought down trees and power lines.

Electricity was cut for about three hours across most of the city, from 2pm to 5pm.

Police Superintendent Bruce Porter told AAP Stuart Park, Parap, Larrakeyah, Marrara,
Humpty Doo and Herbert were without power.

The BoM said the cyclone was now travelling west and communities along West Australia's
Kimberley coast could be hit by winds up to 130 kilometres an hour on Monday.

A cyclone warning has been issued for Wyndham to Mitchell Plateau.

Further west, a cyclone watch has been issued for coastal communities to Cockatoo Island
near Broome.

Heavy rain is expected to cause localised flooding across the region on Monday.

In BoM's seasonal outlook issued in October, two cyclones were predicted to make landfall
in the region this season.

AAP ka/jfm/de

KEYWORD: LAURENCE UPDATE

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