AUSTRALIA: A lot of people evacuated the northwest coast of Australia on Wednesday as a deadly Category 4 hurricane, Ilsa, approached. Some of the population that fled the area were miners, cattle ranchers, tourists, and indigenous people, who, as the Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner, Darren Klemm, states, have been informed of the severity of the disaster.
Klemm mentioned, in light of the coastal areas of the Pilbara and the Kimberley, “It’s been 10 years since we’ve had a Category 4 cyclone impact the coast of Western Australia, and so many people up in the Pilbara and the Kimberley wouldn’t have experienced that sort of impact.”
Additional supplies in the form of emergency workers and important supplies, as well as aircraft, have been sent to the area. Klemm says, “People need to make sure they’re well prepared for winds in excess of 200 kph (124 mph), which is going to be significant.”
The Bureau of Meteorology of Australia mentioned that the storm would gain its intensity with its subsequently passing on Thursday or early Friday over the vaguely populated Western Australia’s Pilbara coast in between the iron ore export town of Port Hedland in the west and Broome’s tourist town in the east.
Todd Smith, bureau manager, stated, “Any areas where that system does cross the coast are going to experience some very destructive winds, winds in excess of 200 kph (124 mph).” “They’re going to cause a lot of damage.”
Smith warned that high tides and flooding were expected and that people must by all means avoid the coastal areas.
A Category 4 cyclone, Christine has been the deadliest storm, and Ilsa could be one of similar intensity. Ilsa was a Category 2 storm that had moved south over the Indian Ocean from a spot 350 km northwest of Boston.
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