The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says Cyclone Fina - the Northern Territory’s strongest cyclone since Cyclone Tracy in 1974 - is now generating “very strong winds and heavy rain” in the coastal Kimberley region of Western Australia. Early assessments of damage in Darwin suggest its impact wasn’t as significant there as some feared. So far, downed trees and power outages are the main causes of disruption in the territory’s capital. Brokers expect to have a better idea of claims numbers in the coming days, including from their far-flung rural customers.
“I dare say that after a few days we will see what has really happened with our clients,” said Jade Hall, account executive with Black Adder Insurance Brokers. Her firm serves a wide range of urban and agricultural clients in the Darwin area. As Fina bore down on Darwin she was anticipating lots of calls.
“We didn't have a lot come through,” she said. “My mobile was on the whole weekend and we obviously put it up all over our social media to let clients know that I would be available.”
The power cuts could be one factor that contributed to the low number of calls. But Hall also said clients often start their clean-up process before they call in. However, they often would call in, she said, if they were in need of an immediate make safe. “That suggests that probably - but I can't say for sure now - that the damage hasn't been as bad as perhaps people were expecting in their worst case scenario,” said Hall.
However, Darwin does have lots of trees down and for rural clients the ongoing power cuts can generate big claims for brokers.
“Some of the biggest claims we can have are because power goes down - so water pumps stop working,” said Hall. “When access to electricity and water stop, it's harder to get that going again when the clients are more rural.”
The broker said as the cyclone approached Darwin, her clients were likely uncertain what to expect.
“It was an unusual one - it went from a Category 1 quickly to a 2, back down to a 1 and up to a 3 on the Saturday morning,” said Hall. “But obviously, this is not the first time the NT has gone through something like this and clients know what they've got to do to minimise any risk.”
By Monday, Fina was offshore again where it reached a category 4 strength before heading back to the coast and impacting Western Australia.
“Parts of coastal Kimberley will see some very strong winds and heavy rain through both Monday and Tuesday,” said a BoM release. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA (DFES) was warning residents between Cambridge Gulf and north of Berkeley River Lodge to shelter indoors. BoM expects this “really powerful weather system” to start easing back by the end of Tuesday.
