Two ports in Western Australia’s Pilbara region reopen after Tropical Cyclone Zelia

SYDNEY – Western Australia’s ports of Dampier and Varanus Island reopened, the ports’ operator said, after Tropical Cyclone Zelia hit the state’s Pilbara iron ore region on Feb 15.

Pilbara Ports said on its website late on Feb 14 that the ports, a gathering and processing hub for oil and gas, reopened after being shut on Feb 13 evening as the cyclone, the most severe storm to hit the Pilbara coast since Cyclone Ilsa in April 2023, approached.

“Pilbara Ports has undertaken inspections of navigation aids, channels and berths and has confirmed safe operations can resume,” the operator said in the alert.

The cyclone brought heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 290kmh when it made landfall, and its approach prompted the closure of the world’s largest iron ore hub of Port Hedland on Feb 12. The region’s Cape Lambert port also shut.

Pilbara Ports did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Port Hedland remained closed on Feb 15, after the storm crossed the coast near the port just after noon on Feb 14 as a Category 5 cyclone, the highest danger rating.

It then moved south and weakened to a Category 4, sparing the town’s population centre from its most destructive winds.

The nation’s weather forecaster said on Feb 15 that the storm, now downgraded to a tropical low, was “dissipating over the inland Pilbara”.

“Ex-Tropical Cyclone Zelia is below cyclone intensity and is continuing to weaken as it moves slowly south and farther inland through the eastern Pilbara,” the forecaster said on its website.

Even so, senior forecaster meteorologist Angus Hines told the Australian Broadcasting Corp that some Pilbara towns could become cut off as water levels rose because of heavy rain brought by the storm.

An emergency warning was in place on Feb 15 for residents between the remote Pilbara towns of Warralong and Marble Bar, about 157km south-east of Port Hedland, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services said.

Port Hedland is used by BHP Group, Fortescue and billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, while the Dampier and Cape Lambert ports ship iron ore from Rio Tinto.

Fortescue said on Feb 15 it was assessing its operational sites, including roads, villages and mines in the wake of the cyclone.

“Minimal damage has been reported,” a spokesperson said in a statement, after the company on Feb 14 closed its Iron Bridge mining operations and cancelled non-essential travel to Pilbara sites. “We are working to resume normal activities as quickly and safely as possible.”

BHP, which on Feb 14 paused its Port Hedland operations for safety, said on Saturday the cyclone had not caused any major damage at its sites. “Our teams are now progressively returning to site, with recovery and ramp up operations underway,” a spokesperson said in a statement. REUTERS