{"id":101376,"date":"2025-02-13T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=101376"},"modified":"2025-02-13T17:04:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T06:04:41","slug":"schools-shut-roads-closed-northern-australia-faces-a-category-5-cyclone-zelia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/schools-shut-roads-closed-northern-australia-faces-a-category-5-cyclone-zelia\/","title":{"rendered":"Schools Shut, Roads Closed: Northern Australia Faces a Category 5 \u201cCyclone Zelia\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Northern Australia is preparing for the impact of <strong>Tropical Cyclone Zelia<\/strong>, which is expected to strengthen into a <strong>category five system<\/strong> before making landfall. Authorities have taken precautionary measures, closing schools and roads in <strong>Western Australia&#8217;s Pilbara region<\/strong>, as the storm approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cyclone Zelia, currently classified as a <strong>category four cyclone<\/strong>, has been generating wind gusts of up to <strong>250 km\/h<\/strong>. The system is moving south-west toward the coast and is expected to intensify further, crossing the shoreline <strong>west of Port Hedland on Friday night<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Evacuation Orders and Emergency Warnings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities have issued a <strong>cyclone watch and act warning<\/strong> for areas between <strong>Eighty Mile Beach and Whim Creek<\/strong>, extending inland to <strong>Marble Bar<\/strong>. Emergency services have warned of a <strong>potential threat to lives and homes<\/strong>, urging residents to prepare for extreme weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Great Northern Highway<\/strong> is set to close, and an evacuation centre has been established in <strong>South Hedland<\/strong>. Residents have been advised to secure their homes, stock up on essential supplies, and follow safety instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Severe Tropical <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CycloneZelia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#CycloneZelia<\/a> (category 4) is intensifying rapidly and now expected to reach category 5 intensity today. <br> <br>Very high rainfall and destructive wind gusts likely near track. <br> <br>Latest: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QdjBLkJdvZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/QdjBLkJdvZ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VwRGVB9GnM\">pic.twitter.com\/VwRGVB9GnM<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_au\/status\/1889804189523390493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 12, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disruptions to Industry and Transport<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Port of Port Hedland<\/strong>, which handles the largest volume of <strong>iron ore exports<\/strong> in the world, was shut down on Wednesday in anticipation of the cyclone\u2019s arrival. Mining company <strong>BHP<\/strong> has also paused non-essential travel to the region, while its mining operations continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Local businesses and retailers are working with emergency authorities to ensure essential supplies remain available, particularly for <strong>remote Indigenous communities<\/strong> that could be affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional <strong>emergency personnel, flood boats, and aircraft<\/strong> have been deployed to assist in response efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heavy Rainfall and Strong Winds Expected<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Residents in <strong>Port Hedland<\/strong> have reported increasing rainfall as preparations intensify. Some fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers have left the region ahead of the storm, while local communities brace for <strong>severe weather conditions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Severe Weather Update: Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia to impact the Pilbara coast.<br> <br>Video current: 7:00am AWST 13 February 2025.<br><br>Latest forecasts and warnings: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4W35o8iFmh\">https:\/\/t.co\/4W35o8iFmh<\/a> or the BOM Weather app. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ok6F0Kge64\">pic.twitter.com\/ok6F0Kge64<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_au\/status\/1889820442430677414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 12, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Chris Ward, a Port Hedland resident, described the atmosphere in the town. &#8220;The rain has well and truly started. People are stocking up at the supermarket on food and water and tying down stuff around their homes. The airport is getting busy too, FIFO workers are flying out. Looks like it&#8217;s going to be a wet and wild Valentine&#8217;s Day.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Queensland Still Recovering from Recent Floods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Western Australia prepares for Cyclone Zelia, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/after-weeks-of-chaos-north-queensland-sees-sunlight-but-the-recovery-is-just-beginning\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"101283\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>north Queensland<\/strong> is continuing cleanup efforts after record-breaking rainfall and flooding <\/a>caused widespread damage. The severe weather led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents and resulted in two fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, with emergency services on standby to assist communities in <strong>Northern Australia<\/strong> as the cyclone develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Latest forecasts and warnings: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4W35o8iFmh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/bom.gov.au<\/a> or the BOM Weather app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A powerful cyclone is barreling toward northern Australia, forcing school closures and emergency preparations. Winds are intensifying, and authorities are bracing for what could be a devastating impact. Key roads are set to shut down as the system grows stronger. The full extent of the threat is becoming clearer by the hour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weather","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101376"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101388,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101376\/revisions\/101388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}