A powerful tropical cyclone was barreling toward the Pilbara region in northwestern Australia on Thursday and was expected to bring destructive winds and flooding to a remote region that is home to ports and mines that are crucial to the global economy.
Tropical Cyclone Zelia had sustained wind speeds of about 127 miles per hour on Thursday morning and was expected to make landfall late Friday in Western Australia, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. This would make the storm equivalent to a Category 3 Atlantic hurricane. On Australia’s tropical cyclone scale, it falls within the highest classification level.
“It doesn’t get worse than that. That is the most powerful tropical cyclone you can get,” Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist at the bureau, said in a briefing on Thursday.
While the Pilbara region, a desert, is sparsely populated, it is Australia’s mining heartland and home to major iron ore mines operated by Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP. A key port in the region has already closed.
The storm may bring wind gusts of as much as 180 m.p.h. when it makes landfall, Mr. Hines said. That’s strong enough to destroy houses and “cause widespread damage and destruction,” he said. Zelia is also expected to bring flash flooding and coastal surges to the region, with some parts expected to receive more than 19.7 inches of rain.
The storm has forced ports in the region to halt operations. Port Hedland, one of the largest iron ore ports in the world, closed on Wednesday, according to Pilbara Ports. Dampier Port, which is used by Rio Tinto, and the Port of Varanus Island, which is used as a processing hub for oil and other fuel, would close on Thursday afternoon, Pilbara Ports said.
Rio Tinto said in a statement on Thursday that it had paused its Dampier Salt operation at Port Hedland and Dampier, and had cleared ships and trains from its ports in the region.
The storm is expected to make landfall between the towns of Karratha, home to about 22,000 people, and Port Hedland, which has nearly 16,000 residents. A number of major roads in the region were closed on Thursday, as were stores, national parks and a dozen schools.
