North West Australia braces for the strongest cyclone in a decade

Cyclone Ilsa is forecast to gain strength before making landfall on the north coast of Western Australia.

Strong winds and heavy rain are battering northwest Australia as Cyclone Ilsa bears down on the sparsely populated but resource-rich region.

The storm, likely the strongest to hit the northwest in nearly 10 years, could bring “very destructive” winds of up to 170 mph (275 km/h), the Bureau of Meteorology said Thursday.

Food and fuel have been delivered to remote areas, and people have been advised to stock up on essentials, including water.

A yellow alert, warning residents to prepare to take shelter from a cyclone, has been issued in several remote towns.

The alert covered Port Hedland, a major iron ore transportation hub where most of the 15,000 residents are employed by mining companies. The city is about a 17-hour drive north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia.

Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said destructive winds could turn flying debris into “airborne missiles.”

“That’s what causes all the damage, that’s what hurts people,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “Everyone is on the edge. They understand that cyclones are what they are. They are very, very unpredictable.”

Some 700 residents of the remote community of Bidyadanga were being evacuated, the fire service said.

Ilsa is expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday and could affect a 600 km (373 mi) stretch of land from north of Port Hedland eastward to south of the resort town of Broome, the agency said. meteorological office in its latest update.

Port Hedland, which is used by iron ore producers such as BHP Group and Fortescue, could escape the worst of the storm, the Met Office said.

A Fortescue spokesman said it had suspended shipping operations and non-essential travel to the port, but did not expect “any significant impact on operations at this stage.”

In April 2021, Cyclone Seroja struck the west coast of Western Australia with gusts of up to 170 km/h (106 mph), damaging homes and downing trees and power lines.

“They have a lot of strength in them, the ability to not only destroy trees and knock down power lines, but also to lift those loose items in the yard, including trailers and campers,” meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told ABC.