Darwin bloke filmed performing a burnout during Cyclone Fina
As authorities urged residents to shelter, one Darwin local had other ideas.
There’s got to be a better way to clean your car.
With category three Cyclone Fina bearing down on the Northern Territory, you’d think the locals would be to batten down the hatches and hunker down for the wild conditions.
But one video posted to social media captures a Darwin resident performing doughnuts and burnouts while Fina rages around them.
The video was posted by Lee Plowman, who credited Mariia Shevchenko with the original video, captioning the clip with a simple “I don’t know”.
The stunt has gathered varied responses in the hours since, prompting Willem Westra Van Holthe to add the simple “what a clown”.
It’s unsurprising that the behaviour goes against the recommendations of authorities pleading with the public not to take risks.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro told NewsWire, “people just really need to stay safe, bunker down, and look after their family, friends and pets.”
Ms Finocchiaro urged people to prepare their properties, including by removing or tying down loose objects, and to ensure they have 72 hours worth of supplies such as food, clean drinking water, torches, batteries.
“Everyone needs to be prepared, not panicked,” she said.
“We are in this together, and people need to be staying connected, listening to the authorities about what next steps are … heed all the warnings, stay safe, stay inside, and look after yourselves, your families and your pets.”
As of Sunday morning the worst of the Cyclone had passed Darwin and although still threatening parts of the NT with flooding and destructive winds Incident Controller Superintendent Emma Carter recommended Territorians should stay where they’re bunkered down until given the all clear by emergency crews.
“We are aware of trees being down so when we do give the all clear to leave shelters please take extra care when moving around,” she said.
“When it’s safe, we will issue an advisory to let everyone know, but we ask you to refrain from sightseeing.
“The first thing we will do once the storm has passed is send out the rapid assessment team to do an initial survey for damage, and we do ask you to stay in your shelters while we undertake that part of the job.”
The Tropical Cyclone was declared a category 3 system before reaching Darwin early on Saturday morning, with strong winds and heavy rains felt throughout the day.
As a severe Category 3 cyclone, TC Fina sustained winds of 130km/hr with wind gusts up to 195km/hr.
The Tiwi Islands were hit with very destructive winds of up to 205km/h, and Darwin felt the brunt of Tropical Cyclone Fina into the evening.
Conditions are expected to ease through Sunday as the system progresses south.
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Originally published as Darwin bloke filmed performing a burnout during Cyclone Fina
