A severe tropical cyclone headed for the northern Australian city of Darwin, wiped out in a direct hit by a storm in 1974, but weather officials believe it will weaken as it crosses land on Monday or Tuesday.
Cyclone Monica, a slow-moving maximum category-five tropical storm, buffeted Aboriginal communities on the western shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria on Sunday night and halted production at an alumina refinery.
Monica, with winds gusting at 350 kph (220 mph), was about 520 km (320 miles) northeast of the tropical city of Darwin on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
It said the storm was expected to cross the coast later on Monday and reach the Darwin area by Tuesday afternoon.
"The cyclone is then expected to weaken slightly as it passes over the Cobourg Peninsula ... but will still be a severe tropical cyclone," said the bureau.
[snip]
Cyclone Monica is of similar intensity to Cyclone Larry, which caused at least A$250 million ($185 million) in damage when it hit the Queensland coast around Innisfail last month, smashing houses and destroying banana crops.
Now imagine what is going to happen if the Gulf Coast, or Florida's Atlantic coast, gets hit by two Cat. 5 storms this year......
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