{"id":5775,"date":"2023-04-14T15:59:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T15:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5775"},"modified":"2023-04-14T15:59:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T15:59:22","slug":"powerful-cyclone-ilsa-hits-australias-northwest-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/powerful-cyclone-ilsa-hits-australias-northwest-coast\/2023\/04\/14\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerful Cyclone Ilsa hits Australia’s northwest coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA<\/span>(AP)<\/span> –<\/span>Australia’s<\/span> most<\/span> powerful<\/span> tropical<\/span> storm<\/span> in<\/span> eight<\/span> years<\/span> hit<\/span> the<\/span> northwest<\/span> coast<\/span> on<\/span> Friday<\/span> with<\/span> gusts<\/span> of<\/span> winds<\/span> that<\/span> apparently<\/span> reached<\/span> 289<\/span> kilometers<\/span> (180<\/span> miles)<\/span> per<\/span> hour,<\/span> but<\/span> larger<\/span> populations.<\/span> Avoided<\/span> crowded<\/span> areas<\/span> and<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> encourage<\/span> immediate<\/span> reporting<\/span> of<\/span> injuries.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Cyclone<\/span> Ilsa<\/span> crossed<\/span> the<\/span> Pilbara<\/span> coast<\/span> in<\/span> Western<\/span> Australia<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> severe<\/span> Category<\/span> 5<\/span> storm,<\/span> but<\/span> weakened<\/span> to<\/span> Category<\/span> 2<\/span> as<\/span> it<\/span> moved<\/span> inland,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> Bureau<\/span> of<\/span> Meteorology.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>En<\/span> route<\/span> damage<\/span> from<\/span> Ilsa,<\/span> which<\/span> landed<\/span> early<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> morning<\/span> 150<\/span> kilometers<\/span> (93<\/span> mi)<\/span> northeast<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Parduh<\/span> iron<\/span> ore<\/span> exporting<\/span> town<\/span> of<\/span> Port<\/span> Hedland,<\/span> was<\/span> still<\/span> under<\/span> investigation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Pardoo’s<\/span> population<\/span> was<\/span> 47<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> census,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Pardoo<\/span> Roadhouse<\/span> and<\/span> Tavern<\/span> were<\/span> demolished.<\/span> The<\/span> two<\/span> owners<\/span> remained<\/span> unharmed<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> storm,<\/span> emergency<\/span> officials<\/span> said.<\/span> “They<\/span> had<\/span> a<\/span> pretty<\/span> uncomfortable<\/span> and<\/span> challenging<\/span> night,”<\/span> said<\/span> Fire<\/span> and<\/span> Emergency<\/span> Services<\/span> Director<\/span> Peter<\/span> McCarthy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Beyond<\/span> Pardoo,<\/span> acting<\/span> minister<\/span> for<\/span> emergency<\/span> services<\/span> Sue<\/span> Ellery<\/span> described<\/span> storm<\/span> damage<\/span> as<\/span> “fairly<\/span> minimal.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Fire<\/span> and<\/span> Rescue<\/span> Services<\/span> Commissioner<\/span> Darren<\/span> Clem<\/span> said<\/span> Ilsa<\/span> moved<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Indian<\/span> Ocean<\/span> to<\/span> Port,<\/span> the<\/span> world’s<\/span> largest<\/span> bulk<\/span> export<\/span> port<\/span> for<\/span> shipping<\/span> Australian<\/span> iron<\/span> ore<\/span> worldwide,<\/span> after<\/span> she<\/span> moved<\/span> to<\/span> Headland.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> relieved<\/span> to<\/span> move<\/span> to<\/span> Port<\/span> Hedland<\/span> has<\/span> a<\/span> population<\/span> of<\/span> 16,000<\/span> she<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> largest<\/span> city<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Pilbara.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Before<\/span> the<\/span> storm<\/span> hit,<\/span> the<\/span> city’s<\/span> docks<\/span> had<\/span> been<\/span> cleared<\/span> of<\/span> ships,<\/span> including<\/span> iron<\/span> ore<\/span> carriers.<\/span> Residents<\/span> of<\/span> Port<\/span> Hedland<\/span> “feel<\/span> like<\/span> they<\/span> dodged<\/span> a<\/span> bullet,”<\/span> Mr<\/span> Clem<\/span> said.<\/span> “Port<\/span> Hedland<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> devastating<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> event<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> Category<\/span> 5<\/span> cyclone.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ilsa<\/span> set<\/span> an<\/span> Australian<\/span> record<\/span> for<\/span> gusts<\/span> of<\/span> up<\/span> to<\/span> 289<\/span> km\/h<\/span> (180<\/span> mph)<\/span> on<\/span> Bedout<\/span> Island<\/span> off<\/span> the<\/span> Pilbara<\/span> coast<\/span> before<\/span> the<\/span> island’s<\/span> gauge<\/span> failed.<\/span> It<\/span> wasn’t<\/span> obvious.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“We’ll<\/span> look<\/span> at<\/span> some<\/span> data<\/span> there,<\/span> and<\/span> these<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> strongest<\/span> gusts<\/span> ever<\/span> recorded<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> station’s<\/span> equipment,”<\/span> Smith<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Category<\/span> 5<\/span> cyclones<\/span> have<\/span> average<\/span> wind<\/span> speeds<\/span> in<\/span> excess<\/span> of<\/span> 200<\/span> km\/h<\/span> (124<\/span> mph)<\/span> and<\/span> gusts<\/span> in<\/span> excess<\/span> of<\/span> 280<\/span> km\/h<\/span> (174<\/span> mph).<\/span> The<\/span> last<\/span> Category<\/span> 5<\/span> storm<\/span> to<\/span> cross<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> coast<\/span> was<\/span> Cyclone<\/span> Marcia<\/span> in<\/span> 2015.<\/span> Marcia<\/span> has<\/span> caused<\/span> hundreds<\/span> of<\/span> millions<\/span> of<\/span> dollars<\/span> in<\/span> damage<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> east<\/span> coast<\/span> state<\/span> of<\/span> Queensland.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Category<\/span> 2<\/span> storms<\/span> have<\/span> maximum<\/span> average<\/span> wind<\/span> speeds<\/span> of<\/span> 89<\/span> km\/h<\/span> to<\/span> 117<\/span> km\/h<\/span> (55<\/span> mph<\/span> to<\/span> 73<\/span> mph)<\/span> and<\/span> gusts<\/span> of<\/span> 125<\/span> km\/h<\/span> to<\/span> 164<\/span> km\/h<\/span> (78<\/span> mph<\/span> to<\/span> 102<\/span> mph).<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Japan<\/span> Meteorological<\/span> Agency,<\/span> the<\/span> storm<\/span> will<\/span> weaken<\/span> further<\/span> as<\/span> it<\/span> moves<\/span> southeast<\/span> by<\/span> land.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA(AP) –Australia’s most powerful tropical storm in eight years hit the northwest coast on Friday with gusts of winds that apparently reached 289 kilometers (180 miles) per hour, but larger populations. Avoided crowded areas and did not encourage immediate reporting of injuries. Cyclone Ilsa crossed the Pilbara coast in Western Australia as the most severe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,714,1034,1566,2403],"tags":[3876,3877,3878,3879,3880,3881,3882,3883,3884,3885,3886,3887,3888,3873,3889,3874,3890,3875,3891],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/CYCLON.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5775"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5775"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5778,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5775\/revisions\/5778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}