Cyclone Fina misses main communities in far north Kimberley and now category one
The Bureau of Meteorology track map of Cyclone Fina as of 11:55am WST on Tuesday. (Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology)
In short:
Tropical Cyclone Fina crossed the far north Western Australian coast as a category three system about 9:30pm WST on Monday.
The Bureau of Meteorology says destructive wind gusts of up to 155 kilometres per hour are impacting a remote part of the Kimberley region.
What's next?
The few people affected are sheltering in underground bunkers in the state's far north.
Caretakers at the two holiday businesses in Western Australia's far north are still sheltering from Tropical Cyclone Fina, which crossed as a category three system on Monday night.
The system has now been downgraded to category one.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued a cyclone warning for the King George River Mouth to Berkeley River Mouth.
People in the remote Cambridge Gulf to north of Faraway Bay are still being told to shelter indoors.
Faraway Bay resort owner Kathie Reilly said staff on the property were experiencing "strong gusty winds" and rain and continued to shelter indoors.
"They haven't been out yet and checked the property yet, [they're] waiting for things to settle down," she said.
A BOM spokesperson said Tropical Cyclone Fina crossed the coast at 9:30pm WST on Monday and was generating wind gusts up to 170 kilometres per hour in the Berkeley River Mouth.
Cyclone Fina is now a category two system and is expected to weaken further on Tuesday as it travels inland near the north-east Kimberley coast.
Cyclone crosses in remote location
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) acting Kimberley superintendent Todd Pender said, fortunately, there were only four people in the cyclone's immediate path and they were well prepared.
A few people were sheltering in underground bunkers as the system crossed the coast.
Todd Pender says people in the warning zone are well prepared. (ABC Kimberley: Ruby Littler )
"There are two people at Berkeley River at the lodge there, and there are another two up at Faraway Bay," Mr Pender said.
"They're well set up to be able to ride out through the storm … and we'll meet [and] catch up with them in the morning just to see how they've gone and give an assessment of what the damage is looking like."
Initially, the BOM predicted Cyclone Fina would significantly impact the remote township of Kalumburu, which had about 300 residents.
Loading...The chief executive officer of Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation, Kim Holm, said it was a relief Tropical Cyclone Fina did not make landfall near the community, with business expected to continue as usual today.
She said it was "a bit damp", and the system brought a much-needed breeze to ease humidity.
"[It is] the best outcome we could have asked for," she said.
DFES had sent extra resources from Perth to Kalumburu in preparation for any damage.