CANBERRA - A cyclone struck Australia's northwest coast on Monday just days after a storm flattened homes and a mining camp in the same area, killing three people.
Cyclone Jacob, a category one storm, crossed the coast near the iron ore town of Port Hedland where category four cyclone George caused chaos last Friday.
With winds of only 100 kph (60 mph), emergency services said Jacob had not left a trail of destruction like George, which battered the region with 275 kph winds.
"When we saw this one queueing up behind George we thought, oh God, surely not. A lot of rain though, that's going to be the biggest problem," Pardoo Roadhouse owner Terry Brennan told local media.
Weather forecasters said Jacob would quickly lose intensity after crossing the coast. The storm was heading inland into the mineral-rich Pilbara, where residents are still cleaning up after George.
The two cyclones shut about half of Australia's oil production for a fifth day and operators said production would probably only resume later in the week.
Cyclone George hit a mine camp owned by Fortescue Metals Group, killing one person and injuring 28, prompting accusations from unions that workers had not been given enough warning to find shelter. Another worker died in hospital and one person died elsewhere.
Cyclones are a regular feature of the Australian summer in the tropical north and the season still has another month to run. The most deadly on record was Cyclone Tracy, which killed 65 people in the northern city of Darwin in 1974.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
