Sydney, Feb. 15 -- Flood warnings have been issued for northwest Australia after a tropical cyclone made landfall on Friday, bringing intense rainfall and strong winds.
Tropical cyclone Zelia crossed the coast of Western Australia (WA) near the small town of De Grey in the state's northwest Pilbara region as a category four storm shortly after midday local time on Friday, hours earlier than expected. It was forecast to reach the coast in the evening as a category five storm.
Wind gusts of up to 220 km per hour and over 500 millimeters of rain were recorded in De Grey before the storm quickly weakened.
Authorities on Saturday morning downgraded it to an ex-tropical cyclone but warned that heavy rain is expected to persist and could lea...