Australia braces for strongest storm in decade

Australia's northwest region is bracing for the impact of cyclone Ilsa, the area's most powerful tropical storm in a decade.The cyclone, which has been upgraded to a category four storm and is expected to reach category five, is set to make landfall late on Thursday or early on Friday with winds of up to 285km per hour (177 mph). The region is home to Port Hedland, the world's largest iron ore export hub, which has closed its port as a precautionary measure.

This satellite loop shows Severe Tropical Cyclone IIsa, moving toward the Pilbara coast and expected to cross early Friday morning as a category 5 system.
For the latest forecast: https://t.co/YYU1op4qNR pic.twitter.com/sUcxw7bCnc

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) April 13, 2023

A yellow alert has been issued for several remote towns, including Port Hedland, ordering residents to be ready to shelter from the cyclone.The storm's expected landfall is near the remote Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern where manager Will Batth planned to shelter. Ilsa reached the highest Category 5 intensity Thursday over the Indian Ocean and is expected to maintain that destructive level as it crosses the Pilbara coast by early Friday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said.

The last Category 5 storm to cross the Australian coast was Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Marcia caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in the east coast state of Queensland.