WA ports prepare for cyclone Seroja

The ports of Geraldton and Ashburton could be hit by the cyclone as winds up to 150 kilometres per hour are anticipated to arrive by late Sunday and early Monday.

Meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Jonathon How said the cyclone would make landfall between Carnarvon and Jurien Bay as a category two cyclone.

“This is a rare event for the west coast of Western Australia and people should prepare for potentially dangerous conditions,” How said.

BOM stated April cyclones formed in the western regions of Australia typically had a higher chance of moving south, meaning heavy rain and dangerous tides are likely for Geraldton Port and possibly in Perth.

No shipping alerts have been released at the time of writing.

With the severe weather anticipated to hit more than 1000 kilometres along Western Australia’s coastline, mines all along the south-west coast of the state should stay alert for potentially damaging winds or flooding.

Mines that are operating in proximity of the affected regions include Kalamazoo Resources’ Ashburton gold project, Silver Lake Resources’ Deflector gold-copper mine and Rio Tinto’s Mesa A iron ore mine.

According to BOM, it is hard to determine the exact path and ferocity of the weather system as cyclone Seroja is set to collide with cyclone 23U.