Regional towns lashed by a cyclone face being isolated for days with limited food supplies as communities in two states begin to count the cost of recent destructive weather events.
As the weather system continues to move south on Saturday,authorities still warn of concerns from ‘exceptionally rare’ rainfall amounts causing dangerous flooding in the north of WA.
Residents in Port Hedland and surrounding areas have been ordered to stay indoors and shelter as winds pick up,with the centre expected to cross the coast this afternoon.
A resident captured this footage on Friday.
The Pilbara region in Western Australia is bracing for Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia to make landfall on Friday as a category 5 system.
There is now a threat to lives and homes in the area,with people instructed to shelter indoors as winds pick up.
Reconstruction work is expected at the site as the clean-up begins across north Queensland after record rainfall triggered flooding,claiming two lives.
Residents of Port Hedland and Karratha choosing to stay behind as Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia edges closer to the coastal town are worried the monster cyclone brewing off the coast will be like nothing they’ve ever seen.
The West Australian mining towns of Karratha and Port Hedland are both at risk of a “direct impact” from Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia,which is expected to make landfall on Friday afternoon.
Tropical Cyclone Zelia is forecast to cross the WA coast around 5pm WST Friday with winds up to 290km/h.