Technology & Science
Cyclone Fina Slams Darwin, Shuts Airport and Damages Hospital Before Turning Toward Timor Sea
Between 22–23 Nov 2025, Category-3 Cyclone Fina raked the Tiwi Islands and Darwin with 205 km/h gusts, knocking out power, closing the airport and tearing a hole in Royal Darwin Hospital’s roof before moving offshore where forecasts say it could strengthen further.
Focusing Facts
- Darwin International Airport was closed through 23 Nov 2025 after overnight gusts peaked at 205 km/h.
- A 4 m² ceiling section collapsed inside Royal Darwin Hospital during the storm; no casualties reported.
- Fina is the first severe November cyclone in the Australian region in two decades and could reach Category 4 over the Timor Sea.
Context
Cyclone Fina inevitably draws comparison to Cyclone Tracy (24–25 Dec 1974), which levelled Darwin and killed 66 people, spurring Australia’s strict 1975 building codes; unlike Tracy, Fina caused no fatalities, suggesting hard-won resilience. Its arrival a month before the traditional peak and as the strongest November storm since at least 2005 echoes a broader, decades-long trend of warmer seas pushing cyclone intensity and seasonality—paralleling the way Hurricane Opal (1995) signalled an earlier Atlantic season shift. The episode also underscores systemic vulnerabilities: power grids, remote Indigenous communities and critical health infrastructure still suffered outages and structural failures despite upgraded standards. On a 100-year horizon, Fina may be remembered less for dollar damage than as another data point in the escalating frequency of high-end cyclones testing northern Australia’s adaptation strategies in an era of accelerating climate volatility.
Perspectives
International mainstream press
e.g., The Straits Times — Frames Cyclone Fina as further evidence that climate change is intensifying extreme weather in Australia, warning that such storms will become more frequent and severe. By stressing the climate-change angle in a single paragraph sourced to researchers, the coverage may over-attribute one event to global warming to keep climate risk high on the agenda.
Australian tabloid / commercial online media
e.g., Daily Mail Online, News.com.au — Portrays the cyclone mainly through dramatic damage, viral videos and colourful anecdotes (‘burnouts in the storm’), underscoring Fina’s ferocity as the worst since Tracy and warning of more chaos to drive clicks and readership. Sensational language and focus on spectacular incidents can exaggerate peril and minimise context such as long-term climate factors, serving attention-economy incentives rather than balanced reporting.
Australian broadcast & regional outlets
e.g., Sky News Australia, RNZ, SBS — Centres on official Bureau of Meteorology data, emergency-service instructions and post-storm recovery, stressing that preparedness limited injuries and that residents should remain vigilant as the system moves away. Heavy reliance on government briefings may lead to a more restrained tone that downplays broader causes or policy debates, aligning coverage with authorities’ reassurance narrative.