Cyclone Zelia makes landfall in Western Australia as Category 5 storm

SYDNEY — Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall on Australia’s west coast on Friday, the weather bureau said, lashing the world’s largest iron ore hub with heavy rain and wind gusts up to 180 miles an hour.

The eye of the storm crossed the coast east of Port Hedland just after 12 p.m. (11 p.m. ET Thursday) as a category five cyclone, the highest rating on the scale.

It then moved south and weakened to a category four, sparing the town’s population center from its most destructive winds.

“This is a very dangerous system that will cause significant impact and is causing impacts as we speak,” said Matthew Collopy, a forecaster with Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

Cyclone Zelia is the most severe storm to hit the Pilbara coast since Cyclone Ilsa in April 2023.