Residents of Western Australia’s Kimberley coast and eastern Pilbara will spend the weekend picking up debris following one of the most severe storms to hit the region in more than decade.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa smashed into the coast at Pardoo in the early hours of Friday morning as a category 5 system — the strongest cyclone category possible, with wind gusts in excess of 250km/h.
Right in its path was the Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern, a combination service station and eatery that was torn apart by Isla and copped about $4m damage, according to management.
The owners, who weathered out the storm on the roadhouse site, will launch an online fundraiser in coming days to assist in the rebuild of the vital Great Northern Hwy pit-stop.
Those in larger regional centres “really dodged a bullet,” according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Todd Smith, as the storm passed right between Port Headland and Broome.
The state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) carried out damage assessments on Friday morning and found structural damage in Port Headland and Bidyadanga to be minimal.
Ilsa weakened as it moved east over Friday, and was downgraded to a category 2 about midday as it passed over the evacuated mining town of Telfer.
BOM relegated it further to a category 1 system in the afternoon, and the former TC Ilsa weakened to below cyclone intensity after crossing the NT border early on Saturday.
Former Tropical Cyclone Ilsa is expected to combine with a cold front moving east over southern Australia, creating a rain band that will move over the eastern states heading into Monday.
It was one of the only category 5 systems to touch down in Australia in recent years.
Port Headland was rocked by category 5 cyclone George in 2007, one of the few category 5 systems to make landfall in Australia’s recent history.
Three people were killed at a small mining camp south of Port Headland when George struck the region.