Australia NOW! Category 5 Cyclone Zelia: 180 MPH Winds & Flooding!

On February 14, Tropical Cyclone Zelia struck Australia’s northwestern coast, hitting the Pilbara region — a key mining hub. It made landfall east of Port Hedland as a Category 5 cyclone, bringing wind gusts of up to 180 mph and heavy rainfall. As it moved inland, the system quickly weakened to Category 4, sparing densely populated areas from the worst impacts.

Port Hedland, one of the world’s largest iron ore export hubs, was completely shut down ahead of the storm, along with other major industrial ports in the region — Dampier, Varanus Island, and Cape Lambert.

Strong winds and torrential rain damaged infrastructure, toppling hundreds of trees, damaging buildings, and causing record-breaking floods. Some areas received up to 20 inches of rain in just three days. In the small town of Telfer, 3.7 inches fell in just one hour, an extremely rare event for the region.

Due to flooding, rescue teams evacuated 63 people from the Warralong community by helicopter. Floodwaters also damaged pastures, causing severe damage to agriculture. According to local authorities, flooding in some areas could persist for weeks.

The state governor described Zelia as a massive and unpredictable system. Before landfall — and this is becoming a frightening new climate “norm” — the cyclone underwent explosive intensification, jumping from Category 1 to 5 in just over 24 hours.

This was driven by two key factors. First, Zelia drew energy from the exceptionally warm waters off Western Australia, where sea surface temperatures reached 86–90°F. Second, the cyclone stalled between two high-pressure systems, remaining nearly stationary about 90 miles offshore for almost two days, creating ideal conditions for rapid intensification.

To understand why ocean temperatures have reached record levels and what this means for the planet and its inhabitants, check out the "Popular Science Film: Anthropogenic Factor in the Ocean’s Demise".