Photo: Department of Fire and Emergency Services
A powerful storm has made landfall on the northern coast of Western Australia.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa crossed the coast near Port Hedland just before midnight on Thursday as a category five storm.
It has since been downgraded to category four but still has the potential to cause significant damage.
A red alert was issued hours earlier, with thousands of people ordered to take immediate shelter.
It is the country's most serious cyclone alert level. Under it, people are told to remain in the strongest, safest part of their homes and to stay away from doors and windows until they are given the all-clear by authorities.
While northern Australia is no stranger to cyclones, this storm is the strongest to hit the region in 14 years.
The "very destructive core" of the storm will bring "extreme" wind gusts of up to 315km/h in parts of the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
Winds of 218km/h were recorded on Bedout Island just off the coast as the storm touched down, setting a preliminary 10-minute sustained wind record, according to the BOM.
The previous record was 194km/h - winds that were recorded when Cyclone George hit Australia in 2007.
"There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately," the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said, when the red alert was issued on Thursday afternoon, local time.
Residents, including some 15,000 people in Port Hedland, the world's biggest iron ore exporting port, have been ordered to shelter inside and stay away from doors and windows.
"It is too late to leave. Stay indoors until the all clear is given by authorities," the red alert warning states.
Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said evacuation centres had been set up in the town.
"Everyone is on edge," Carter told the ABC. "They understand that cyclones are what they are. They're very, very unpredictable."
On Thursday as the cyclone approached, residents made last minute preparations by sandbagging and securing homes and businesses, Channel Nine reporter Ezra Holt told the BBC from Port Hedland.
He added that there were mixed emotions within the town, with some not too fussed, and others more concerned because cyclones this strong are quite rare.
Weather officials also warned of up to 400mm of rain and abnormally high tides, with the storm's impact felt across a 600km region from Port Hedland to just south of Broome.
Some 700 residents from the remote community of Bidyadanga have been evacuated, the fire service has said.
In Port Hedland, iron ore carrying ships were reportedly being moved from the harbour. Mining company BHP told Reuters it was closely monitoring the situation, but its mining and rail operations were continuing.
The last category five cyclone to hit WA was Cyclone Laurence in 2009. Two years earlier, another category five storm, Cyclone George, killed three people as it tore through mining camps just south of Port Hedland.
Locals taking shelter
As residents across the town bunkered down for the night, Port Hedland retiree Jenny Higgins said she felt well-prepared.
"I have water stored, I have lights and an indoor fan ready, we have plenty of food in the house, so we will hunker down and wait for it to blow over," she said.
"It's very wet, our grassy area of the house becomes a swimming pool - we're right on the sea, so we get a really good view of the noise, the sea, the wind."
Higgins said Ilsa would not be her first major storm.
"I've been through a few typhoons in Hong Kong where the buildings swayed, and you just sit it out," she said.
"You live in an area like this and you've got to expect things like this.
"Just stay indoors, stay hunkered down, get out the board games and enjoy the family with you."
Community set to rally once storm passes
Port Hedland resident Zac moved to the Pilbara eight weeks ago.
"We'll just see what happens with the damage and we'll all pull together like the good community Port Hedland is," he said.
"Probably get together as a community over the next couple of days, assess the damage and just be there for one another."
Islands off the Kimberley and Pilbara coasts began seeing dangerous conditions from early on Thursday.
Gusts of 235kph were recorded on the Rowley Shoals, a popular dive and fishing spot 260km west of Broome, while winds hit 218kph on Bedout Island.
With falls of between 150mm and 300mm of rain expected along Ilsa's path, the Great Northern Highway is expected to remain closed between Port Hedland and Broome for several days.
-BBC / ABC
