INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightEPA/NASA WORLDVIEWImage caption
Satellite imagery shows Cyclone Veronica just off the north-west coast of
Australia
A second cyclone within 48 hours has brought destructive winds and torrential rains to coastal regions of
Australia.Cyclone Veronica lingered about 95km (60 miles) off the nation's north-west coast on Monday, officials said.Despite no longer
being expected to make landfall, the category two system is moving slowly and has prompted warnings for locals to remain indoors.Cyclone
Trevor, a category four, hit the Northern Territory on Saturday.Heavy rain and large waves whipped up by Cyclone Veronica threaten to cause
widespread flooding in Western Australia, according to authorities.An area stretching from Karratha to Port Hedland was enduring gale-force
winds of more than 125km/h, the Bureau of Meteorology said.Similar conditions affected the Northern Territory on Saturday when Cyclone
Trevor made landfall between the remote communities of Numbulwar and Borroloola.Image caption
Cyclone Veronica is near
Port Hedland in Western Australia, after Cyclone Trevor made landfall in the Northern Territory on Saturday
In Western
Australia, the strong winds snapped trees and caused minor power outages but there were no immediate reports of injuries.Many locals had
reinforced their homes with sandbags and stocked up on food and water supplies
One woman who gave birth at a local hospital during the storm named the child Veronica, local network Nine reported.Cyclone Veronica was a
category four before it was downgraded at the weekend
"It really is quite unusual for two cyclones to happen at the same time, particularly two very strong systems," meteorologist Steph Bond
told the TheIndianSubcontinent, adding it had happened only twice in Australia's history.She attributed the timing to a climate phenomenon
known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation creating "favourable" conditions for summer storms.Cyclone Trevor also brought down trees and power
lines after making landfall as a category four system.Image copyrightAFP/Getty ImagesImage caption
Thousands of people
were evacuated ahead of Cyclone Trevor
Authorities said it had caused no major injuries or significant damage to
infrastructure, following the region's biggest evacuation effort in nearly 50 years.Thousands of people in remote communities relocated to
regional centres ahead of the storm
Some began to return home on Monday.
