Tropical Cyclone Ilsa is expected to hit Western Australia’s Pilbara and Kimberley regions later today, and it’s likely to bring heavy rain and destructive winds. The Bureau of Meteorology has given a good yardstick of what ‘destructive’ means in this case – it says the wind could be strong enough to pick up a caravan… Forecasts have Ilsa making landfall between Broome and Port Hedland as a category 4 storm with wind gusts of more than 250km/hour. If that’s the case, it will be the first storm of such magnitude to strike the region in over a decade and has already caused offshore oil and gas operations to shut up shop. Residents have been told to prepare for potential flooding and power outages, and the state government has activated its emergency response plan, with emergency service crews on standby.