The Regional Controller has advised that three special public shelters will open this afternoon as Category 1 Tropical Cyclone Blanche brushes past Darwin today.

“The shelters will be open for the vulnerable population only – focussing on the homeless and itinerant members of the community to give them some respite from the weather,” Commander Brent Warren said.

"Blanche is a Category 1 storm – most homes in Darwin are built to withstand high winds and there is no need to for the general population to move to shelters.”

The shelters will be Darwin Supreme Court, Nightcliff Middle School and Palmerston Senior College. They are open from 12pm for the most vulnerable who do not have access to suitable shelter. These shelters do not have the capacity to cater for individuals with medical conditions, although St John will be on hand to provide First Aid services. Water and basic shelter will be provided, there will be no food at these shelters. No pets are permitted in these shelters.

The shelters will remain open based on demand and weather conditions.

“Local authorities are working together to reach out to as many people living on the streets as possible to provide them some shelter during the height of this storm,” Commander Warren said.

At this stage, all schools will open as usual on Monday 6 March including Palmerston Senior College and Nightcliff Middle School.

Cyclone Warnings are in place from Mitchell Plateau in Western Australia through to Point Stuart, including Darwin and Wadeye; and Cape Fourcroy to Cape Don.

The Cyclone Watch zone extends further west on the Kimberley coast to Cockatoo Island.

For more information on the tropical low and weather warnings go to the Bureau of Meteorology: http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/warnings/.

Cyclone preparedness information is available at SecureNT: https://securent.nt.gov.au/prepare-for-an-emergency/cyclones