Australia's Darwin Airport closed due to Cyclone Carlos
CANBERRA. February 16. KAZINFORM Cyclone Carlos is continuing to batter Australia's Northern Territory with heavy rain and strong winds, and the Darwin Airport on Wednesday has been closed indefinitely due to the wild weather. Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
According to the Bureau of Metrology (BoM), a tropical low moving north across land towards the Northern Territory coast lashed Darwin on Tuesday night, before developing into a category one cyclone over the Beagle Gulf on Wednesday.
Darwin's School has been canceled for Wednesday and Thursday, while the Darwin Airport has been closed .
The Darwin Airport recorded 340mm of rain in the 24 hours before 9 a.m. (CST) on Wednesday and a further 38.8mm had fallen by 2 p.m. (CST).
"The Darwin International Airport management team has on Wednesday morning made a collective decision to keep the Darwin Airport closed to passenger travel," a statement from the Northern Territory emergency services said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Darwin and the Tiwi Islands continue to be lashed by heavy rain and strong winds, as category one Cyclone Carlos nears the coast.
In the Darwin suburb of Marrara, a record 435 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours.
Emergency services crews received more than 2,000 calls for help overnight, including reports of 91 trees and 31 powerlines down and several cars abandoned in rising water.
Storm surge shelters at the Casuarina Senior College and Nightcliff Middle School are now open to residents affected by flooding.
A number of roads in and around Darwin are now impassable. Kazinfrom cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.net for full version