A SEVERE tropical cyclone lashed north-western Australia on Friday with the strongest sustained winds the country has ever recorded, but officials said towns and cities appeared to have escaped the worst of the storm.

Tropical Cyclone Ilsa was upgraded to a category five storm – the strongest on the scale – shortly before making landfall near the sparsely-populated town of Pardoo, about 19 hours’ drive north-east of Perth.

The owners of the Pardoo Roadhouse, a small petrol station and caravan park, said on social media that their business looked to have “suffered great damage”.

But authorities said major population centres appeared to have “escaped the brunt of the cyclone”, which has since weakened to a category three.

“We’ve received no calls for assistance. It appears the larger populated areas have escaped most of the damage,” emergency services spokesman Peter Sutton told national broadcaster ABC.

“We’ll have a helicopter in the air as soon as it’s safe,” he added.

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The Bureau of Meteorology said the cyclone had set a preliminary Australian record for the strongest sustained wind speeds over a 10-minute period, averaging 218 kmh with gusts of 288 kmh.

The previous record was 194 kmh, set by Cyclone George in 2007.

Australian researchers have repeatedly warned that climate change amplifies the risk of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones.

Red Alert

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued a new series of “red alerts” as the storm swerved inland on Friday, ordering people to stay indoors until given the all-clear.

“There is a threat to lives and homes,” the department said.

Tropical Cyclone Ilsa was still whipping up “destructive” winds of up to 165 kmh, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Tropical storms typically sputter out quickly once they reach land, but Ilsa was forecast to maintain an unusual intensity as it moved across the vast desert Outback in coming days.

The north-west coast of Western Australia is the most “cyclone-prone region” in the country, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

It also has “the highest incidence of cyclones in the southern hemisphere”.

The region holds significant deposits of iron ore, copper and gold, and is home to some of Australia’s largest mining operations.

Although most mines are expected to escape unscathed, some – including the Newcrest gold mine at Telfer – have been winding down operations as a precaution.

Port Hedland, an iron ore-shipping hub, was closed earlier this week as the cyclone gathered pace above the Indian Ocean.

ANZ Bank, one of Australia’s largest financial institutions, said this could disrupt global supplies of iron ore, a key ingredient in steel. AFP