Australia: Tropical Cyclone Blake to impact north of Western Australia state January 9-10 /update 1

Event

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued an advisory at 17:06 (local time) on Thursday, January 9, forecasting Tropical Cyclone Blake to impact the northern coast of Western Australia (WA) state from Thursday, through Friday, January 10. The BoM expects Blake to bring heavy rains and sustained winds from Mitchell Plateau to Wyndham, as well as from Daly River Mouth to Point Stuart, including Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for the western Arnhem, Tiwi and northern Daly districts, while Darwin is under cyclone watch as of Thursday.

As of 15:30 on Thursday, Blake is located at approximately 12.3°S 133.8°E (map here) with sustained winds near the center of 55 kph (34 mph) and wind gusts up to 85 kph (52 mph). The BoM confirmed that Blake is moving in a west-southwest direction at 11 kph (6.8 mph) and is forecast to track close to the Darwin area late on Friday.

Associated flooding, landslides, and transportation and business disruptions are anticipated, as well as disruptions to power and communication services, in the coming hours and days.

Advice

Individuals in the affected areas are advised to monitor local weather reports, avoid areas directly affected by flooding, confirm road conditions and flight status before setting out, contact your airline for more information, anticipate transportation and business disruptions, and adhere to instructions issued by local authorities. Avoid walking or driving through floodwaters; 15 cm (6 in) of running water is enough to knock over an adult.