Communities along Western Australia's Kimberley and Pilbara coasts could be hit with winds of up to 275 kilometres per hour tonight as Tropical Cyclone Ilsa makes landfall.
Key points:
- Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa has rapidly intensified and is approaching WA's north-west coast
- Gale-force winds and heavy rain are expected to impact communities from today
- The system is likely to make landfall between Port Hedland and Bidyadanga tonight
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said category-three Cyclone Ilsa was set to continue intensifying today as it moved south towards the Pilbara coast.
Ilsa was 340 kilometres north of Port Hedland at 5:00am this morning, moving south-southwest at 11 kph, with sustained winds near its centre of 155 kph and wind gusts to 220 kph.
Cyclone warnings are in place along more than 700km of coastline between an area south of Broome to Whim Creek, with alerts also extending hundreds of kilometres inland into the Eastern Pilbara and beyond.
The BOM said the most destructive winds would likely be felt between Bidyadanga and De Grey, where the cyclone was predicted to make landfall later tonight or early tomorrow morning as a category-four system, most likely between Pardoo Roadhouse and Wallal Downs.
The cyclone warning for Broome has been cancelled.
Cyclone Ilsa is expected to maintain a degree of structure and strength after making landfall, with damaging winds anticipated in Marble Bar and Telfer from this afternoon.
"We're likely to see winds pick up in coastal areas and conditions continue to deteriorate," BOM spokesman Todd Smith said.
"We're expecting the damaging winds and heavy rainfall to extend hundreds of kilometres inland."
Final preparations for state's largest remote community
At Bidyadanga, 180km south-west of Broome, between 600 and 700 people are expected to shelter through the worst of the cyclone.
"We're just finalising a few things right now — checking on any potential rubbish or anything that could fly around," Bidyadanga chief executive Tania Baxter said.
"We're as confident as we can be, knowing that we have back-up.
"I feel like we've got good support, we just have to wait it out now."
Fresh supplies were trucked in from Broome yesterday, giving the community around seven days of food and fuel.
Ms Baxter said maintaining the community's power supply would be critical over the coming days.
"Without power, we haven't got water and possibly even communications," she said.
"So if we can maintain power supply then we'll be fine, we'll manage everything else that comes with it and any damage that comes."
Vulnerable locals evacuated
Longtime resident Frankie Shovellor said he was relieved some of the community's more medically vulnerable locals had been evacuated to Broome.
"It's a bit scary here, just knowing it's going to be a big one," he said.
"I think everyone's going to be prepared for the wind and rain, but it'll still be a bit scary for the young and old living in the community."
Three hours down the highway at Pardoo Station — the opposite side of Ilsa's predicted track — staff have spent the past two days making their final preparations.
Guests from the station's caravan park were moved on early, with remaining staff, contractors and neighbouring station owners working to secure the site.
"We're one day away and we're bracing for impact," Pardoo Beef strategic partnerships director Monica Chetty said.
"But we're prepared — as prepared as we'll ever be."
Around 20 remaining staff were due to relocate to Port Hedland yesterday, to shelter while the cyclone passed through.
Power, water, communications key
While the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has worked to ensure adequate supplies to a number of remote communities, utility companies are putting lessons learned during this year's catastrophic Kimberley flooding into play.
Horizon Power community manager Michelle South said extra fuel had been dispatched to multiple communities.
"We're really focused on making sure the network is in good shape, and we're well prepared to respond to any potential impacts," Ms South said.
"We've actually undertaken a review recently in response to the Kimberley floods and basically identified exactly what we need in terms of fuel supplies to make sure we're well prepared."
Water Corporation north west manager Sharon Broad urged residents in impacted areas to stock up on emergency supplies of fresh water.
"You may have low water pressure or no water, due to damage in our infrastructure or power outages affecting our equipment," she said.
"Filling containers, buckets or sinks, we recommend that people require around 20 litres per day for drinking, washing and cooking."
Telstra regional general manager Boyd Brown said the telco had been inspecting transmitter sites and making contingency plans across the Kimberley and Pilbara.
"Like most major infrastructure, our base stations and telephone exchanges are reliant on mains power, but we do have temporary backups in place for short term outages," he said.
"If there is an extended outage, we will look to bring in temporary portable generators at impacted sites to help bring back connectivity."
The BOM said Cyclone Ilsa was expected to weaken below tropical cyclone strength overnight on Friday as it moved east into southern parts of the Northern Territory.
Loading YouTube content
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTA0LTEzL2dhbGUtZm9yY2Utd2luZHMtdG8taGl0LWtpbWJlcmxleS1waWxiYXJhLWN5Y2xvbmUtaWxzYS1sYW5kZmFsbC8xMDIyMTQ0NDDSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAyMjE0NDQw?oc=5
2023-04-12 19:56:25Z
1919398034
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Tropical Cyclone Ilsa set to make landfall tonight as WA's Kimberley, Pilbara brace for damaging winds, rain - ABC News"
Post a Comment