The weather bureau has issued a cyclone warning for most of the east coast of the Northern Territory as Ex Tropical Cyclone Tiffany moves into the Gulf of Carpentaria and regains intensity.
The system is forecast to develop into a Category Two Cyclone over the next 24 hours with the potential to lash coastal communities from Nhulunbuy to the Queensland Border.
"All communities are urged to be prepared for damaging to destructive winds and very heavy rainfall in the coming days," said Jude Scott from the Darwin Weather Bureau.
Ms Scott said rainfall totals of up to 200mm could be expected in some areas with a flood watch in place for coastal rivers in the Gulf region, and it was unlikely the system would develop further.
"At this stage we don't think it's going to be spending enough time over water to intensify to category three strength," she said.
In the path of the cyclone is Groote Eylandt, the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and home to thousands of people.
The incident control centre at Darwin’s newest police station is managing the Cyclone response. Source: Supplied
The approaching storm isn't the only threat facing residents, as Northern Territory police confirmed a number of people on the island have tested positive to COVID-19.
Incident controller Acting Superintendent Bradley Fox said there are no plans to evacuate anyone regardless of their COVID status.
"If they have the ability to isolate in their homes and they are satisfactorily coded for the upcoming weather events, they’ll stay in that location or they’ll be moved to another satisfactory location that’s coded to suit their needs," he said
Superintendent Fox said coronavirus patients had been urged to isolate themselves away from shared cyclone shelters but couldn't rule out the possibility of people with the virus sheltering with residents who don't have the disease.
"Our intention is to isolate those persons in suitably coded structures away from the general populace of Groote Eylandt," he said.
Cyclone Tiffany will begin to impact Groote Eylandt tonight before crossing the coast tomorrow.
