Australia's most powerful cyclone in 12 years is set to tear across the coast impacting thousands of residents.
Cyclone Isla will hit the west coast with winds of up to 196 miles per hour, meteorologists say.
The tropical cyclone was recently upgraded from Category 4 to 5 and its extraordinary wind speeds could take some in its path by surprise.
It is currently sweeping across the Indian Ocean and is expected to maintain its destructive level as it crosses the Pilbara coast by Friday, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.
Cyclones are common along the sparsely populated area of Western Australia and fatalities are rare.
But authorities have raised concerns about those in its path, with many residents having evacuated in recent days.
Bidyadanga, home to around 700 people, has stocked enough food and fuel by Thursday to last a week in case the community is isolated by floodwater.
Its CEO Tania Baxter said maintaining the community's electricity would be critical to how they weather the storm.
"Without power, we haven't got water and possibly even communications," Baxter said.
"So if we can maintain power supply, then we'll be fine. We'll manage everything else that comes with it and any damage that comes."
Category 5 cyclones have mean wind speeds exceeding 124 mph with gusts exceeding 174 mph. They typically cause widespread destruction, the bureau said.
The last Category 5 storm to cross the Australian coast was Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Yasi caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in the east coast state of Queensland.
The only death blamed on the storm was a man killed by exhaust fumes from a electricity generator he had used in a confined space.
In 2019, Category 5 Cyclone Veronica did not cross the Pilbara coast, but damaged infrastructure and disrupted the region's mining and offshore gas industries.
Ilsa is expected to cross the coast somewhere in a 137-mile span between the iron ore export town of Port Hedland and Wallal Downs Station, a 500,000-acre cattle ranch to the east.
Those close to where Ilsa makes landfall will experience gusts of up to 196 mph, the bureau said.
The storm's expected landfall is near the remote Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern where manager Will Batth planned to shelter.
"We haven't had any as strong as this in many years. This is a big one," Batth said.
"There's no point in worrying. I can't stop it."
On Thursday, police closed the highway along the Pilbara coast between Port Hedland and the tourist town of Broome, 380 miles 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.
Port Hedland and Broome are the largest population centers in the Pilbara region with 16,000 and 15,000 people respectively.
In Port Hedland, from which the world's largest bulk export port sends Australian iron ore around the globe, evacuation centres have opened to people whose homes might not withstand the storm, Mayor Peter Carter said.
"Everyone is on edge," Carter said. "They understand that cyclones are what they are. They're very, very unpredictable."
Long-term Port Hedland resident Julie Arif, who has experienced several cyclones, said she was concerned for those in Ilsa's path.
"They'll be prepared and riding it out. But it is still terrifying, absolutely terrifying," Arif said.
"When you're inside in a house and there's just the roar of the wind outside and thumping and banging and crashing. And cyclones happen at nighttime. You don't know what it is and it's frightening."
The weather bureau warned of damaging winds, flooding rain and abnormally high tides along the Pilbara coast as Ilsa passes.
Many people in the Pilbara region are involved in the mining and cattle industries or are tourists taking advantage of the school vacation period that began this week.
