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SYDNEY: A severe tropical cyclone was gathering force off Australia's northwest coast Wednesday, forcing residents to take shelter as it unleashed highly destructive winds, officials said.
The remote Western Australia community of Kuri Bay, north of Broome, was placed on red alert as the weather bureau upgraded Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence to a category five, its most destructive storm class.
"People need to go immediately to the strongest, safest part of their shelter and stay away from doors and windows that should be closed," a spokesman for the state's Fire and Emergency Services Authority told AFP.
Winds of up to 285 kilometres (177 miles) an hour were expected to lash the coast near Kuri Bay, with gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour possible further south and rainfall in excess of 100 millimetres (four inches).
"It's very close to the coast at the moment," said weather forecaster Neil Bennett. "We think it will land probably around 8:00 pm (0900 GMT) very close to Cockatoo Island."
Once it crosses the tiny mining island, Bennett said the cyclone was expected to weaken.
Meanwhile, fire crews were bracing for extreme conditions in the country's south-east, with forecasters predicting strong winds and temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Authorities said it would be the hottest day in Victoria state since February's Black Saturday firestorm, in which 173 people died and more than 2,000 homes were razed.
But the fire danger index, which takes into account a range of factors other than temperature including humidity and wind speed, is only about one-third of what it was on Black Saturday.
State fire chief Russell Rees said conditions were still highly risky.
"Please, we are pleading with the community, do not ignore the fact that it is only (rated) extreme," Rees told state radio. "Only extreme is still a bad fire day."
- AFP/so
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