Cyclone Chris batters Australia

One of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded in Australia hammered the country’s north-western coast early today with wind gusts expected to reach 180 mph.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries in the sparsely populated region.

Tropical cyclone Chris, a category five storm - the most powerful - swept across the coast near the tiny settlements of Wallal and Pardoo about 1,150 miles north of the Western Australia state capital, Perth.

The cyclone, which brewed in the Indian Ocean, was expected to weaken after crossing the coast.

Chris was even more powerful than Australia’s most destructive cyclone, Tracy, which flattened the northern port city of Darwin in 1974.

Cyclone Vance, which hit north-west Australia in 1999, was rated a category five cyclone and the strongest ever recorded in Australia, with winds of up to 186 mph.

State Emergency Service spokeswoman Tracy Barker said conditions in the tiny settlements in the storm’s firing line were likely to be dangerous.

‘‘I would imagine that (in) Pardoo and Wallal it would be very, very rough at the moment, they would be getting very strong winds and very heavy rain, probably more so in Pardoo than Wallal because the cyclone is now south of Wallal,’’ she said. ‘‘In the pictures we’re getting, probably Pardoo is taking the brunt of it.’’

Very heavy rain brought by the cyclone was expected to lead to flooding in the west Kimberley and eastern Pilbara - important mining regions in Australia.