Tropical Cyclone Zelia Makes Landfall in Northwest Australia
Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall on Friday afternoon in northwestern Australia, bringing intense rain and destructive winds to a sparsely populated region of the country that is home to ports and mines critical to the global economy. The authorities ordered residents to stay indoors.
Australian meteorologists said the storm had made landfall at 12:30 p.m. local time 34 miles northeast of Port Hedland, a town of about 15,000 people in the Pilbara region, a desert that is home to some of the world's largest iron ore mines. The storm was packing winds of 132 miles per hour, equivalent to a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane, according to the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
A tropical cyclone warning was in effect from Wallal Downs to Roebourne, about 150 miles from Port Hedland. Intense rain, flash flooding and wind gusts of up to 100 m.p.h. were expected in the area, said Miriam Bradbury, a meteorologist at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.
More damaging winds of up to 180 m.p.h. were forecast closer to the eye of the storm, powerful enough to destroy trees and permanent structures in its path, Ms. Bradbury said in a briefing on Friday morning.
The Australian authorities on Friday ordered residents in Port Hedland and surrounding areas to take shelter, urging them to stay away from doors and windows. They had also closed dozens of schools and roads in the region that could be flooded.
'Port Hedland is expected to avoid the very destructive core of the cyclone,' the Bureau of Meteorology reported as it announced that Zelia had made landfall.
Major ports were bracing for the storm in the Pilbara region, the world's largest iron ore exporter, providing nearly 40 percent of the global supply. Port Hedland closed on Wednesday, and Dampier Port, used by the mining company Rio Tinto, and the Port of Varanus Island, a processing hub for oil and other fuel, closed on Thursday.
Zelia was likely to lose strength as it moves inland over the weekend, but heavy rain was forecast as it made its way south, Ms. Bradbury said.
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