When Anastasi Kambourakis, director of the Savannah Way Motel in Borroloola, talks about the incoming weather, there is a particular weariness in his words. "There has been a fair bit of water around from previous rain," he told media, speaking of conditions already difficult before Tropical Cyclone Narelle even arrives. For communities across the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Top End, the approaching storm is not simply another cyclone. It is a test of resilience for places still waterlogged from the past week.
Cyclone Narelle reintensified on Saturday and is expected to impact the Northern Territory this weekend, with coastal communities from Nhulunbuy to the Queensland border, including Borroloola and Groote Eylandt, likely to be impacted. The system brings with it very destructive winds with gusts to 185 km/h forecast in coastal areas between about Birany Birany and Numbulwar, including Groote Eylandt, Saturday evening and overnight into Sunday.
The timing could hardly be worse. Much of the Territory remains saturated following recent, unprecedented flooding, with river systems across the Daly, Roper and Katherine catchments still elevated. As NT Incident Controller Kirsten Engels warned, conditions across the Territory mean the region is particularly vulnerable right now, as the ground is already saturated and it won't take much rainfall to trigger further flooding.
The most vulnerable communities have already taken extraordinary steps. About 500 Numbulwar residents are being evacuated to Darwin as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all residents, with the Australian Defence Force mobilised to assist with evacuations. Residents will be accommodated at Nightcliff High School in the short term.
Yet many communities face a different equation. Most of the people who live in Borroloola are used to the cyclone season, and it occurs at this time of year. Narelle is the first cyclone to hit the area in more than a year and lessons have been learned from previous experiences. When supply disruptions have struck before, the government has prioritised getting freight through to the community, and this institutional experience provides some reassurance.
The challenge before emergency services is to coordinate response across a deeply saturated landscape. After the weather system moves inland, it may lead to renewed and prolonged riverine flooding, as well as flash flooding that could result in road closures. Remote communities may be isolated due to these adverse conditions.
Outside the Territory, Queensland is already engaged in recovery. Energy crews have been deployed to return power to more than 1,000 homes, and police have delivered fuel to remote communities on Cape York to help locals recover from the storm, which brought down trees and ripped off roofs.
The official guidance from authorities is clear. Household members should know what the strongest part of the house is and what to do in the event of a cyclone warning or an evacuation. For those sheltering at home, moving to the smallest, strongest, most protective room remains standard advice during severe weather.
What distinguishes this cyclone from others is not its intensity alone. The Top End of the Northern Territory is prone to cyclones from November to May, and seasonal storms are factored into community life and government planning. The danger here is the compounding effect: a severe cyclone striking already saturated ground, arriving while critical infrastructure and supply lines are themselves recovering from recent damage. Emergency responders face not a single crisis but overlapping ones, and the resilience of northern communities will be tested not by the storm itself but by their capacity to absorb a second blow in rapid succession.
For further official information and updates, Territorians can visit Secure NT's Cyclone Narelle page, contact the Bureau of Meteorology for Northern Territory weather, or call the Northern Territory Emergency Service on 132 500.