Warnings still in place as cyclone blows through Top End

Warning zones remain in place for a number of communities in the Northern Territory after Top End residents endured a noisy night of rain and wind as Tropical cyclone Fina swept through the region.

Wadeye to Cape Hotham, including Darwin, the Tiwi Islands, Dundee Beach, Milikapiti, Pirlangimpi and Wurrumiyanga are still on a watch list with gusts of up to 155km/h possible on Sunday.

Overnight gusts of 195km/h and sustained winds near the centre of the system of 140km/h, tore down trees and cut power in many places.

Fina is moving away from the coast but a warning remains in place for Darwin and the Tiwi Islands.

Households in Darwin, where gusts reached 107km/h, and surrounds have been told by emergency authorities to stay in their homes or emergency shelters until given the all-clear, as wet and windy weather continues.

The storm is the strongest cyclone to approach Darwin since Tracy devastated the capital in 1974, but as of 9:30am (local time) Sunday, there are no reports of serious injuries or damage.

Damage at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Part of a ceiling at the Royal Darwin Hospital collapsed on Saturday but no one was hurt, Emma Carter of NT Police told ABC Radio Darwin.

Dean Narramore, Senior Meteorologist with the bureau, said in inland areas heavy rain could isolate homesteads and communities, flood roads and possibly inundate businesses if the deluge continued through Sunday.

Fina is predicted to start weakening on Monday as it nears the north Kimberley coast.

At the Darwin waterfront on Sunday morning, local resident Alastair Shields said his home lost power on Saturday night and a nearby road was blocked by a fallen tree.

“It was a bit of a rough night, windy and noisy,” he said.

“You couldn’t see what was happening but you could hear trees cracking and falling. That was pretty hair raising.

“It was a wild night, the clean-up begins.”