As Severe Tropical Cyclone Megan approaches the coast, residents in Australia's far north are preparing for devastating winds and heavy rains. The storm has forced evacuations and the shutdown of a significant manganese mine.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an update indicating that the category three storm in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria is expected to hit the coast on Monday. The bureau stated that after reaching landfall, it is predicted to weaken on Tuesday and proceed as a tropical low west across the Northern Territory.
The Northern Territory government reports that the storm has already resulted in the closure of a manganese mine on Groote Eylandt island, the world's largest producer of the metal. According to the report, the mine's production value in 2022–2023 was A$1.53 billion ($1 billion). Off the coast of Western Australia, Shell Plc's Prelude liquefied natural gas plant could be affected by the storm as well.
According to the agency, gusts of up to 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour) are predicted to affect the coast between the Northern Territory and Queensland border as a result of the storm's extremely destructive core. Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt stated in a radio interview that some 800 people are anticipated to be evacuated from the Indigenous town of Borroloola to Darwin on Monday.