At least two people were killed on Friday when a cyclone slammed into Australia’s north-west coast, paralysing mining operations and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Authorities feared category-four Cyclone George had also claimed a third life and caused numerous serious injuries, but said they were struggling to reach remote communities lashed by winds of 275km/h.
The cyclone ripped roofs off buildings, cut power lines and dumped 200mm of rain on the resource-rich Pilbara region, forcing oil, gas and mining operations to close.
A mining camp run by Fortescue Metals Group, about 100km south of Port Hedland, was one of the hardest-hit communities, suffering one confirmed fatality as prefabricated buildings rolled over in gale-force winds.
West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter said injured miners had been trapped in the structures as they waited for help.
“[We] know there are a number of people who are injured, some of them severely injured,” he added.
Rescue crews eventually reached the camp in a helicopter and airlifted the injured to hospital in Port Hedland.
“About 20 were injured and they are being evacuated as quickly as possible,” Fortescue Metals spokesperson Julian Tapp said.
Emergency services said they had confirmed a second death but had few details of the fatality, believed to have occurred at a rural station south of Port Hedland.
Search-and-rescue crews and medical teams were being scrambled from the state capital, Perth, amid unconfirmed reports of a third death.
George was the first cyclone of the season in the state, which sees an average of five cyclones between November and April each year.
Port Hedland resident Steve Fitzgibbon said it was the worst he had experienced in two decades.
“The scary part was the constant pressure of the wind,” he told ABC radio.
“I don’t normally get scared but this cyclone really scared me.”
Another resident, Peta McHardy, said she and her neighbours sheltered indoors as the wild winds buffeted the town.
“We just heard these sounds like roofs or tin flying everywhere,” she said.
Forecasters warned residents could face another battering early next week after another cyclone changed course towards the stricken region.
They said Cyclone Jacob was currently a category-two cyclone in the Indian Ocean and may approach the Pilbara on Sunday night, intensifying as it nears the coast.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto said Cyclone George had prompted them to close their iron ore mining operations.
“Tie-down activity is complete at all assets,” BHP Billiton spokesperson Emma Meade said.
Cyclone George has also been blamed by Indonesian meteorologists for whipping up winds that caused four deaths on the resort island of Bali on Thursday, although Australian experts doubted the analysis.
The storm was gradually losing power as it moved south across the sparsely populated Australian interior and was downgraded to category three late on Friday. — AFP