Emergency declared as Australia braces for powerful twin cyclones

Canberra: Australia on Thursday declared a state of emergency and evacuated people from its Northern Territory as the region braces itself for two cyclones which are expected to make landfall in the coming weekend.

CNN quoted the Australian Meteorological Department as saying that Cyclone Trevor, the equivalent of a category three or four hurricane, is expected to strengthen and hit the eastern side of the Gulf of Carpentaria on Saturday. The winds are expected to gather speed of up to 155 miles per hour (250 kilometres per hour), along with heavy rains and storm.

In the west of Trevor, Cyclone Veronica has also started gaining momentum since Wednesday. It is equivalent of a category three hurricane and expected to make a landfall on Sunday.