Category 4 cyclone lashes northwest Australia

A severe tropical cyclone lashed the northwest Australian coast with strengthening winds and increasing rain Thursday. Authorities warned the population to prepare for destructive gusts of up to 275 kph. Police closed the highway along the Pilbara coast between Port Hedland and the tourist town of Broome, 610 km to the northeast, to prevent motorists from risking the worsening conditions.

Authorities expect the North West Coastal Highway will be impassable due to flooding before Ilsa passes.Ilsa is expected to cross the coast somewhere in a 450-km span between the iron ore export town of Port Hedland and the Indigenous community of Bidyadanga by early Friday.