Thousands have lost power due to Fina, which also caused property damage, but resulted in no injuries to residents.
Published On 23 Nov 2025
Residents of Australia’s Northern Territory have been clearing streets after a damaging tropical cyclone that brought intense winds overnight, tearing up trees and traffic lights and cutting power.
Tropical Cyclone Fina loomed off the coast of the Northern Territory for several days before rapidly strengthening to a Category 3 storm.
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It swept through on Saturday night between the busy city of Darwin and the sparsely populated Tiwi Islands – an archipelago about 80km (50 miles) off the coast – where wind gusts reached 110km (70 miles) per hour.
The “very destructive core” of the cyclone has moved away from the Northern Territory, but heavy rain and winds will persist on Sunday, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Angus Hines said.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said about 19,000 homes and businesses had lost power in the past 24 hours, and efforts were being made to restore it.
She said there was significant debris, including trees and powerlines, and warned people to take care as they moved around.
“In true territory spirit, neighbours are coming out with chainsaws and everyone’s chipping in,” she said Sunday.
“This cyclone saw a territory that was united and prepared for what was to come, and as a result, we’ve seen largely minimal impact and no injuries,” Finocchiaro said in a news conference televised from Darwin.
Airport shut down
Footage showed sheets of rain pouring from roofs during the peak of the cyclone, while huge trees toppled into back yards and roads.
A section of the roof at the Royal Darwin Hospital collapsed, leaving bricks and debris littering a corridor floor.
The Darwin airport, which was forced to shut on Saturday, reopened on Sunday.
Fina is now moving offshore towards Western Australia, and forecasts say it may intensify to a Category 4 storm.
But weather authorities said Sunday it was unlikely the cyclone would make landfall, and that it would gradually break apart in the coming days.
Researchers have repeatedly warned that climate change amplifies the risk of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones.
For residents of Darwin, a population of about 140,000, Fina conjured up painful memories of Cyclone Tracy, which wiped out much of the city on Christmas Day 1974, killing 66 people, in what was one of Australia’s worst natural disasters.
