Perilous
Times and Climate Change
Extensive damage as Cyclone Lua batters north-west
Australian coast
A powerful tropical cyclone has battered communities along Western
Australia's north-west coast with torrential rain and damaging
winds.
There have been reports of extensive damage on the Pilbara coast
but so far no casualties, local media says.
Cyclone Lua crossed the coast as a category four storm but has
weakened to category one as it moves inland.
Australia's meteorology bureau says gusts of up 100km/h (60mph)
are still possible near the cyclone centre.
It has issued warnings for the eastern Gascoyne, western Interior
and northern Goldfields areas during Sunday.
Early on Saturday, Lua crossed the coast between Port Hedland and
Broome and caused extensive damage to some remote Pilbara towns,
uprooting trees and damaging buildings, Australian broadcaster ABC
reported.
Recovery teams were on their way to assess the damage.
As the cyclone gathered intensity and swept in off the Indian
Ocean, Australia's main iron ore mines - which are some of the
biggest in the world - shut down.
The mines are located around Port Hedland on the Pilbara coast.
The last iron ore vessels able to leave Port Hedland before the
storm arrived sailed on Friday morning.
Global Miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton both have major
operations in the area and around 400m tonnes of iron ore passes
through the ports each year.
Australia's cyclone season typically runs from November to April
and can affect oil and natural gas production, as well as mining
and port operations.