Hundreds seek shelter as Cyclone Rusty moves closer to W Australian coast
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E-mail Xinhua, February 27, 2013
Hundreds of residents in Western Australia's Pilbara region have taken shelter in evacuation centers as Tropical Cyclone Rusty moves closer to the coast, local media reported on Wednesday.
Sarah Hoogenboom, from the Department for Child Protection told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News Online that it was a noisy and windy night for those who slept in the town's evacuation center.
"Lots of noise, lots of rain and lots of wind and the intensity of it doesn't seem to drop off," she said.
The Department for Child Protection says that two relocation centers have been opened in Port Hedland and South Hedland.
The state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) on Wednesday issued a red alert for people in or near the coastal communities of Pardoo to Whim Creek including Port Hdland in the Pilbara.
"There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately," the DFES said in the warning.
The highly dangerous winds and rain are expected to continue into Thursday, the DFES warns.
"By now, everyone should have their emergency kit together, and should be sheltering either in a welfare centre or in the strongest, safest part of a building," it said.
Rusty has been upgraded to a category four as it hovers almost stationary 130 kilometers north-northeast of Port Hedland.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says wind gusts to 120 kilometer an hour have already been experienced in Port Hedland and conditions are expected to get slowly worse during the day.
Very destructive wind gusts of more than 165 kilometers an hour are predicted in the area as the cyclone approaches the coast.
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