Tropical Cyclone Ilsa: Devastating photos emerge after super storm makes landfall in Western Australia
Western Australia has been warned the danger from Cyclone Ilsa “is not over yet” after the category five storm battered the coast early on Friday morning.
Western Australia has been warned the danger from Cyclone Ilsa “is not over yet” after the category five storm battered the coast early on Friday morning.
“Our automatic weather station recorded a wind gust of 289km/h,” Bureau of Meteorology hazard preparedness and response manager Todd Smith said at a press conference on Friday.
“We’re going to do some checks on the data there, but it’s likely that that will go down as the strongest wind gusts ever recorded by the Bureau’s equipment in Australia.
“So it just shows how strong this system was when it was approaching the coast.”
Smith said Port Hedland “dodged a bullet” as Ilsa took a turn to the southeast late on Thursday.
“The fact that the cyclone took a south-eastward shift in the track late yesterday afternoon really means that Port Hedland dodged a bullet last night,” he continued.
“Most of the impacts as we‘ve seen are further to the east, and the impacts in Port Hedland were really light with the system tracking about 150km further along the track.”
Horrific images emerged from the area in Western Australia hit hardest by the cyclone .
The “super storm” made landfall as a category 5 cyclone just after midnight local time (2am AEST) on Friday morning.
It has since been downgraded to a category 2.
Gusts reached 295km/h, with the cyclone hitting the Pilbara region near the Pardoo Roadhouse and De Grey, 150km north of Port Hedland and 450km south of Broome.
‘Wiped us out: Damage from cyclone core revealed
Devastating images have emerged from Pardoo Roadhouse after the establishment copped a direct hit from the cyclone.
The locally renowned roadhouse, 150km northeast of Port Hedland, suffered an estimated $4 million in damage after being hit by the category 5 system.
It shared an update on Friday morning and pictures of the building gutted by the by the storm.
“We are all still a bit shaken and emotional to see the damage from Cyclone Ilsa. She may have wiped us out, but she can’t take away our spirit,” the statement on social media read.
“We face a massive clean-up with plans to rebuild.
“We are reaching out for help. If you can help us out in any way big or small, please contact us.
“It looks like we have $4 million worth of damage. We are insured but we are in a very remote area and we estimate the rebuild will cost a lot [more] than that.”
It was an anxious wait as both locals and those around the country waited to see how the iconic roadhouse had fared.
“The team from Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern wish to let everyone know that all staff are safe and well, and for that, we are truly grateful,” the business said.
“Pardoo Roadhouse is a family-run business, and we are a very close-knit team. This is not just where we work, this is our community and home.
“We have been inundated with messages from across the globe, and on behalf of our team, I want to thank everyone who reached out to us. You have lifted our spirits during this challenging time.”
Images show the building without its roof and nearby trees stripped of leaves.
WA’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said it was en route to assess the damage.
The Pardoo Roadhouse was devastated in 2002 when Cyclone Chris made landfall halfway between Broome and Port Hedland, causing severe damage to the nearby Pardoo and Wallal stations.
With winds reaching speeds of up to 205km/h, the storm tore through the northeast of Port Hedland, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Although no human lives were lost, the cyclone claimed the lives of thousands of cattle.
As Cyclone Isla tore through overnight, in Port Hedland, Mayor Peter Carter described the feeling as “eerie” as they awaited the all-clear to assess the damage.
Severe Tropical #CycloneIlsa crossed the coast as a Category 5 system, about 120km ENE of #PortHedland around midnight on Thursday 13 April, with an estimated intensity of 213 kmh. Stay up to date with warnings at https://t.co/NikaX4QRKr and follow advice of @dfes_wapic.twitter.com/SuiKcEU3Yf
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) April 13, 2023
“It was very eerie … and a very, very unusual sound that wind … like a freight train,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
He said the town was “very, very lucky” to avoid a direct hit after the system diverted east at the last minute.
He said around 50 people spent Thursday night in an evacuation centre in nearby South Hedland.
Port Hedland was given the all-clear at 8.15am (AEST).
DFES said patrols of Port Hedland and South Hedland found minimal damage.
“Our Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams and Western Australia Police Force personnel completed preliminary patrols of Port Hedland and South Hedland this morning which reported no visible damage to roads or infrastructure, and subsequently the Red Alert has been lifted for Port Hedland,” DFES said.
The local SES Branch said: “Well we had a lucky break overnight and missed the worst of the cyclone.”
Other locals have said the same after assessing the damage.
“Lost at least 30 flowers off the frangipani tree,” one local joked.
A local wellness centre said all appeared calm.
“Good news for Port Hedland. Ilsa did stay far enough away from us and while it’s still dark here at 5.30am, all appears calm this morning,” business Wellness with Waz told its customers online.
“We’ve had a relatively calm night … this town is one that is very clearly prepared,” local Elise Batchelor told the ABC.
Sunrise slammed for old cyclone footage
Channel 7’s Sunrise has been slammed for airing old cyclone footage during its Tropical Cyclone Ilsa coverage on Friday morning.
The program been airing half-hourly live updates from the ground in Port Hedland reporting the impacts on the town had been lesser than expected.
However during a live cross between host Matt Shirvington, Dean Narramore from BOM and Port Hedland mayor Peter Carter, the program ran overlay footage showing the trail of destruction from another cyclone.
The footage, which has now been removed from online, showed the aftermath of Cyclone Seroja, which devastated the Midwest WA towns of Kalbarri and Northampton in 2021 – over 1300km away from where Ilsa made landfall.
One observant viewer pointed out that when the footage was aired, Port Hedland residents were still unable to leave their homes to assess the damage.
“Is this footage of damaged houses that Ilsa caused? If not, don’t be misleading and show it. [The] town is still on Red Alert and locked down,” she said on the program’s Facebook page.
“Why did you show damage to Kalbarri from the cyclone that went through there a couple of years ago? Very misleading and dangerous to show this while Port Hedland was still under red alert,” another wrote.
A Sunrise representative said the footage was supposed to run with another part of the segment where the possible dangers of high winds were being discussed.
“A question was in the segment about the dangers of such a high wind speed and what it could do,” they said.
“A production error ran the clip at the wrong time. It has been removed from online.”
When Port Hedland was given the all-clear at 8.15am (AEST), residents were relieved to find minimal damage.
“At Hedland we got nothing, nada, zip! A couple of showers under Yellow, honestly the wind didn’t even move my dog’s frisbee an inch,” one viewer clarified on the Sunrise Facebook post.
The footage, used as overlay while Mr Carter was speaking about Port Hedland, showed severely damaged Kalbarri homes and cuts of the town’s iconic Murchison River mouth.
Seroja, which struck the towns as a category 3 system, damaged an estimated 70 per cent of buildings in the two towns.
Premier Mark McGowan at the time labelled the sites a “war zone”.
One viewer said the fact Port Hedland was largely spared should be celebrated.
“Why can’t they be happy and say how wonderful nothing bad happened?” she said.
“It’s disgusting how desperately they look for misery.”
Ilsa makes landfall at Cat 5
Tropical Cyclone Ilsa made landfall in Western Australia overnight, with warnings it is the strongest storm seen in the state for almost 15 years.
It powered up to a category 5 storm, the strongest possible category, as it neared land on Thursday.
Ilsa crossed the coast just after midnight WA time (2am AEST) on Friday morning with gusts reaching 295km/h.
It hit the Pilbara region near the Pardoo Roadhouse and De Grey, 150km north of Port Hedland and 450km south of Broome.
The storm is now officially record-breaking, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), has confirmed.
It set a new preliminary Australian 10-minute sustained wind speed record of 218km/h at Bedout Island, just off the WA coast, on Thursday evening. Cyclone George in 2007 hit 194km/h for 10 minutes at the same location.
As of 4am, Isla was reduced to a category 3 and was 195km southeast of Port Hedland.
“Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa, category 3, is weakening as it moves inland after crossing the coast between De Grey and Pardoo Roadhouse as a category 5 system around midnight,” the BOM said in its 4am (AEST) update.
What’s next for Ilsa?
According to BOM senior meteorologist Dean Narramore, now classified as a category 3 storm, Cyclone Ilsa is “very slowly downgrading” as it moves inland.
It has prompted a warning for several inland areas of Western Australia, including Marble Bar and Telfer.
“Marble Bar is starting to feel the impacts on the outer edge of the cyclone,” he said just after 6am (AEST).
He said its core was still gusting to “150km/h or so”.
“For our inland Aboriginal communities and in some of our remote communities, it’ll only very slowly downgrade, and it will move through inland parts of the northern interior of Western Australia,” Mr Narramore said.
“Then it will move into southern NT later tonight, early tomorrow morning, luckily as a tropical low.”
#CycloneIlsa has set a new preliminary Australian ten-minute sustained wind speed record of 218km/h at Bedout Island! Cyclone George was the previous record holder with 194km/h back in 2007 at the very same location! For the latest https://t.co/6laIpVWtSMpic.twitter.com/m3jsJCadko
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) April 13, 2023
As it does, it’s going to have a lot of heavy rain and gusty winds with it … so we’re looking at widespread 30mm to 50mm falls with isolated falls up to 80mm through southern NT.
He said most of that will fall in a six to 12-hour time window and will likely bring on riverine flash flooding.
“A lot of those dirt roads in that part of the world will become unusable and could see some isolation of communities,” Mr Narramore said.
He said an associated eastbound cold front would draw much of the moisture from the system, meaning South Australia and the country’s southeast can expect a wet weekend.
‘Destructive core’ of Ilsa
Described as having a “very destructive core”, Isla as a category 3 storm is still incredibly powerful with winds near the eye of 175km/h and 250km/h gusts.
The BOM has warned winds of around 150km/h could be felt inland in areas including Marble Bar and Telfer. Meanwhile, 90km/h winds may hit Port Hedland.
“During Friday, Ilsa is forecast to maintain tropical cyclone intensity as it tracks past Telfer and further inland,” the BOM stated.
“Ilsa is then expected to weaken below tropical cyclone strength overnight on Friday as it moves into southern parts of the Northern Territory.”
Around 150-300mm of rain is likely around coastal areas near Ilsa’s eye during Friday.
DFES issued a red alert just hours ahead of the cyclone making landfall warning of fierce winds which had already reached 285km/h.
The red alert covers people between Bidyadanga and Port Hedland (not including Bidyadanga) and inland to Marble Bar and Nullagine.
“Stay indoors now. It is too late to leave,” the DFES said at the time.
Those in the red alert zone were told to seek shelter immediately, and hunker down until the danger had passed.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Todd Smith said Ilsa would cause a lot of damage to the landscape, and any buildings that weren’t up to code.
“We know that this system is really packing a punch,” he said.
“Category 5 cyclones are incredibly dangerous, with wind gusts in excess of 250km/h,” he said.
“That’s going to cause a heap of damage to trees, vegetation, if there were any caravans around they would be destroyed.
“Any houses that aren’t built to code are going to suffer extensive damage from that kind of wind strength.”
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