PORT Hedland and Port Dampier are reopening today after closing yesterday amid a severe storm.
Port Hedland, used by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. to ship iron ore out of northwest Australia’s mineral-rich Pilbara region, was swept over by a tropical low, or a low-pressure system of lesser intensity than a cyclone, in the early hours of this morning.
According to The Bureau of Meteorology, the storm is now heading inland into the Pilbara, the biggest iron-ore mining region in the world, and may cause flooding, with rainfall of up to 200 millimeters over a 24-hour period possible.
Operations at Port Hedland restarted at 8 a.m. after a 20- hour shutdown amid relatively mild conditions.
The Port, which is also used by Rio Tinto Group, will gradually reopen today after being closed since 6 p.m. yesterday.
The Bureau said a tropical low, located over the inland Pilbara at 4 a.m., is expected to move south toward the northern Goldfields during the day.
It also stated that heavy rain and thunderstorms were likely to produce flash flooding and locally damaging winds over inland parts of the east Pilbara and northeast Gascoyne extending to the northern Goldfields.
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