Destructive cyclone forecast to hit northwest Australia

Canberra, Apr. 14: A tropical cyclone is expected to intensify to the most destructive category before it crosses the northwest Australian coast with winds gusting at more than 280 kph (170 mph), meteorologists said Thursday.

Cyclones are common along the sparsely populated Pilbara coast of Western Australia state and fatalities are rare, but authorities fear that Cyclone Ilsa's extraordinary wind speeds could take some in its path by surprise.

Ilsa reached Category 4 intensity Thursday over the Indian Ocean and is expected to strengthen to the maximum destructive category on a five-tier scale before it crosses the Pilbara coast by early Friday, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.

Category 5 cyclones have a maximum mean wind speed exceeding 200 kph (124 mph) with gusts exceeding 280 kph (174 mph). They typically cause widespread destruction, the bureau said.

The last Category 5 storm to cross the Australian coast was Cyclone Yasi in 2011. Yasi caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in the east coast state of Queensland. The only death blamed on the disaster was a man killed by exhaust fumes from a electricity generator he had used in a confined space. In 2019, Cyclone Veronica did not cross the Pilbara coast, but damaged infrastructure and disrupted the region's mining and offshore gas industries. (AP)