Zelia was a tropical cyclone over Australia Friday afternoon Australian Western Time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest advisory. The tropical cyclone had sustained wind speeds of 121 miles per hour, which would make it a Category 3 hurricane if it were in the Atlantic Ocean.

Locals are bracing for gusts of winds that could rip apart homes and intense rainfall that could deliver flash flooding.

Tropical cyclone Zelia has developed into a category five system, prompting warnings there is a ‘significant threat to lives and homes’ in the Pilbara.