Overview
- Tropical Cyclone Hayley has strengthened to a category 4 system offshore with sustained winds near 165 km/h and gusts to about 230 km/h, and the Bureau of Meteorology expects weakening to a severe category 3 at landfall tonight near Cape Leveque.
- Warning zones extend from north of Broome to Kuri Bay, including the Dampier Peninsula and Derby, with forecasts of very destructive wind gusts up to 170–200 km/h between Beagle Bay and Cape Leveque from this afternoon into the evening.
- DFES advises residents in the warning area to take shelter now, with those in caravans or older homes urged to relocate to safer structures, and an evacuation centre open at the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre.
- Forecasters warn of heavy rain with isolated falls of 200–300 mm near the track, flash flooding, abnormally high tides, and gales extending east toward Cockatoo Island and Kuri Bay by early Wednesday.
- Separate to the cyclone, a slow-moving monsoon trough is driving major flooding across parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory, with authorities warning some communities could be isolated for days or weeks.