Cyclone Ilsa, awaited with great concern, has made landfall in Western Australia with the highest category 5. Thanks to the precautionary measures that have been taken for days, the damage was limited, according to initial reports. According to the authorities, no deaths or injuries were recorded. The cyclone hit the coast around midnight (local time) in a relatively uninhabited region about 140 kilometers from the port city of Port Hedland, famous for its iron ore trade, the Australian Guardian reported on Friday. “Ilsa” set a new record in Australia.
According to the National Weather Service (BOM), the storm sustained 135 mph winds over offshore Bedout Island for 10 minutes. The Bureau of Meteorology tweeted that this had never happened before on the fifth continent. The gusts reached top speeds of 288 kilometers per hour.
The storm has since been downgraded to Category 3 and is moving inland. However, gusts of up to 165 kilometers per hour were still measured, the BOM said. The core of the cyclone was further classified as “very destructive”. The last time there was a cyclone of magnitude 5 in Australia was in 2015. At that time, hurricane “Marcia” caused severe damage in Queensland on the east coast. The last time a hurricane was this strong in Western Australia was in 2009. In 2007, category 5 cyclone “George” raged in the region, also near Port Hedland. At that time, three people died and 20 were injured.
