Canberra, December 21: Australia’s remote northwest was on alert on Monday as Cyclone Laurence was expected to bring destructive winds of up to 260 kilometres (160 miles) an hour and flooding to some areas, officials said.
The cyclone, which formed in the Timor Sea last week, was moving south towards the Pilbara region, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia said.
There will be “a period of very destructive winds with gusts to 260 kilometres per hour developing late this morning or early this afternoon,” the authority said in its alert warning.
“People in the area are specifically warned of the very dangerous storm tide expected as the cyclone centre approaches the coast.
“Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide mark with damaging waves and dangerous flooding.”
The authority said gales were already beginning to build in the Eighty Mile Beach area, just north of the iron-ore rich Pilbara region, and heavy rain was expected.
Miner BHP Billiton said it expected the cyclone to disrupt its iron ore operations in the Pilbara region.
“We expect that there may be some production interruption at some operations due to heavy rainfall but otherwise we are mainly keeping watch on the cyclone’s path at this stage,” a BHP spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.
–Agencies