Powerful Cyclone Ilsa Lashes Australia’s Northwest Coast

CANBERRA, Australia – Australia’s most powerful tropical cyclone in eight years pounded its northwest coast Friday, with gusts reaching an estimated record of 289 kilometers (180 miles) per hour, but it avoided major population centers and caused no initial reports of injuries.

Cyclone Ilsa hit the Pilbara coast of Western Australia as a Category 5 storm but fell to a Category 2 as it proceeded inland, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

Ilsa made ashore in the early hours of the morning 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of the iron ore export town of Port Hedland in the rural area of Pardoo.

According to the most recent census, Pardoo had 47 people, and the Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern were destroyed. According to emergency officials, the two owners stayed unharmed through the storm.

“They’ve had a pretty uncomfortable, challenging night,” said Peter McCarthy, Fire and Emergency Services superintendent.

In addition to Pardoo, Acting Emergency Services Minister Sue Ellery described the storm damage as “fairly minimal.”

Australia’s most powerful tropical cyclone in eight years.

Darren Klemm, Commissioner of Fire and Emergency Services, said he was happy that Ilsa had turned towards Pardoo after tracking from the Indian Ocean towards terminal Hedland, the world’s largest bulk export terminal that ships Australian iron ore. Port Hedland, the largest city in the Pilbara, has 16,000 people.

Before the storm, the city’s docks were emptied of ships, including iron ore shipments.

Residents of Port Hedland “feel like they’ve dodged a bullet,” Klemm added. “A Category 5 cyclone impact in Port Hedland would have resulted in significant damage.”

Ilsa appears to have established an Australian record, with wind gusts reaching 289 kph (180 mph) at Bedout Island off the Pilbara coast before the island’s monitoring equipment failed, according to weather bureau manager Todd Smith. It was unclear whether the device failed or the power was turned off.

“We’re going to do some checks on the data there, but that will likely go down as the strongest wind gusts ever recorded by the bureau’s equipment in Australia,” Smith said.

Mean wind speeds in Category 5 cyclones surpass 200 kph (124 mph), with gusts exceeding 280 kph (174 mph). Cyclone Marcia in 2015 was the latest Category 5 storm to hit Australia. Marcia wreaked hundreds of millions of dollars in damage on Queensland’s east coast.

Maximum mean wind speeds range from 89 kph to 117 kph (55 mph to 73 mph), with gusts ranging from 125 kph to 164 kph (78 mph to 102 mph).

According to the forecast service, the storm will continue to diminish as it moves southeast across the land. ___

SOURCE – (AP)