Major Tropical Cyclone Threatens Mine Region in North Australia

A major storm is strengthening off Australia’s northern coast, threatening to bring destructive winds and heavy rains as it heads for landfall in the North Queensland mining region later this week.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle was about 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) northeast of Cairns as of Wednesday morning local time, packing top sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. It is expected to intensify as it moves west and feeds off warm ocean waters, making landfall on Friday as a Category 4 storm in Australia’s five-step system, the bureau said.