Evacuations of communities in the path of a cyclone barrelling down on the Northern Territory have ceased as authorities urge remaining residents to prepare for flooding and destructive winds.
Cyclone Trevor is expected to become a category four tropical cyclone pushing gale-force winds, rain and tidal surges 300 kilometres out from its core by late Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
However, meteorologist Todd Smith warned Trevor had made some unusual moves in the past 24 hours and the system could change direction or surge to category five.
"Regardless of whether it's category five or category four it's still a very dangerous system," he told reporters in Darwin on Friday.
Head of NT Emergency Services Jason Collins said anyone remaining in Trevor's path needs to have supplies to last at least three days, take shelter and stay away from waterways.
"Turn around, don't drown, we may not be there to save you," he told reporters in Darwin late on Friday.
"Emergency services are stretched."
Dangerous waves, tides and flooding will precede the destructive core which is expected to have wind gusts of up to 275 km/h when it smashes into the mainland between Groote Eylandt and the NT-Queensland border about 10am on Saturday.
Earlier, Christine Sauer, whose family runs the local shop and service station in Borroloola, told AAP she and her family were among the last to leave the tiny town, which lies in the storm's path.
Speaking from their car as they sped inland, she said only the local police and utilities workers remained in the community of about 900 people.
"They're about to switch off the power and water then they're leaving too," she said.
"You're not going to sit there for a category four cyclone."
About 2000 residents were evacuated by road and on Australia Defence Force cargo planes from Borroloola, Numbulwar, Groote Eylandt and other indigenous communities.
Buses, vehicles, ferries, planes and helicopters were used during the mass evacuation as a state of emergency was declared in the Gulf country on Thursday.
Tent cities were set up for evacuees in Darwin and Katherine in soggy conditions, where up to 50 millimetres of rain fell overnight.
It is the largest evacuation prior to a cyclone in the territory's history and the largest type of any evacuation since Cyclone Tracy in 1974.
The severity and threat of Cyclone Trevor, as well as the remoteness of the area, led to the decision to evacuate, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said on Thursday.
Trevor left behind a trail of damage in Queensland's Cape York Peninsula earlier this week, uprooting trees, causing flooding and roof damage, closing schools and roads, and knocking out power supplies.
Territorians in Trevor's path have been warned to expect a dangerous storm tide, gales and heavy rainfall up to 300 millimetres, which may lead to flash flooding.
Australian Associated Press
