Cyclone Christine 2013 Update: Torrential Rain and Strong Winds Brought to NW Australia

Cyclone Christine 2013 Update: Torrential Rain and Strong Winds Brought to NW Australia
Zachary Stieber
12/30/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

Cyclone Christine, possibly the last storm of 2013, is hitting northwest Australia hard, bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 170 kilometers per hour.

The rain and wind is expected to continue on Tuesday morning.

The cyclone crossed the Pilbara coast between Karratha and Port Hedland last night, reported ABC.

Damage has been wrought but officials are saying they won’t know the extent until the cyclone fully passes through.

Roebourne and Karratha were hit particularly hard, with about 7,000 customers in the areas left without power.

Karratha resident Margaret Bertling said that the storm is a scary situation.

We haven’t even got a streetlight so it literally is pitch black out there with the most horrendous noises,“ she said. ”Everything is just so uncertain - you just don’t know what’s going on, you can hear all these noises, lots of banging, lots of creaking, funny thumping noises.

“It’s a bit hairy, not the most pleasant thing that I can remember,” she added. “We haven’t had one that’s been this severe for quite some time.”

The storm has been labeled as a category three.

Forecasters are saying that the storm is weakening as it moves inland, toward towns such as Tom Price, Paraburdoo, and Three Rivers.