---
title: WA’s strongest cyclone in 14 years makes landfall
description: "While northern Australia is no stranger to cyclones, Tropical Cyclone Ilsa is the strongest to hit the region in 14 years. The \"very destructive core\" of the storm will bring \"extreme\" wind gusts of up to 315km/h in parts of the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, the Bureau of Meteorology said."
---
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The Canopy is a weekday morning email newsletter provided by the team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
# WA’s strongest cyclone in 14 years makes landfall
Friday, 14 April 2023
While northern Australia is no stranger to cyclones, Tropical Cyclone Ilsa is the strongest to hit the region in 14 years. The "very destructive core" of the storm will bring "extreme" wind gusts of up to 315km/h in parts of the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The Biden administration has announced its plans to ensure two-thirds of new car sales and a quarter of trucks sold in the U.S. by 2032 are all electric, showing how rapidly the world is moving to embrace electric vehicles while Australia risks being left in the dust.
And in critically important news from our nearest neighbour, a frog that looks like poo has been discovered in Papua New Guinea, amongst five new creatures to be formally classified.
**Top Stories:**
[Category 5 Cyclone Ilsa makes landfall after generating record winds](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/live-updates-tropical-cyclone-ilsa-hits-western-australia/102217818)
Tropical Cyclone Ilsa has made landfall in Western Australia, battering the coast with wind gusts of almost 300km/h in the most powerful storm to hit the country in years.
[Australia risks being dumping ground for 'gas-guzzlers'](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-11967277/Australia-risks-dumping-ground-gas-guzzlers.html)
Australia risks becoming a dumping ground for "outdated gas-guzzlers" after the United States launched ambitious policies to cut vehicle pollution and accelerate the adoption of electric cars, lobby groups warn.
['Bird poo' frog among five new species classified in Papua New Guinea](https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-04-14/bird-poo-frog-five-new-species-papua-new-guinea-png/102207720)
The five newly classified species are all in the genus Littoria and are climbing frogs, with one appearing to have developed bird poo mimicry, but changing colour as it matures.
[New WA greenhouse gas guidelines labelled too weak by conservationists, too stringent by mining, energy companies](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-13/wa-new-greenhouse-gas-guidelines-raise-concerns-for-industry/102206290)
Western Australia's new greenhouse gas guidelines governing emissions-intensive projects across the state have drawn a lukewarm response from conservation groups and the state's mining and energy lobby.
[Regional communities embrace electric vehicles despite infrastructure shortages](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/regional-communities-embrace-electric-vehicles-infrastructure/102219428)
Country towns have not been deterred from encouraging more people to travel greener despite queues for electric vehicle charging stations during Easter.
[Fisherman fined for hand-feeding wild dolphin at Tin Can Bay](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-13/fisherman-fined-for-feeding-wild-dolphin-qld/102216912)
Queensland wildlife rangers are pleading with the public to not feed wild animals when visiting popular tourism destinations these holidays.
[A hybrid solar eclipse will occur next week. How does it happen and why is it so rare?](https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-04-13/hybrid-solar-eclipse-exmouth-total-partial-sun-moon/102171998)
Thousands of people are flocking to Exmouth in Western Australia this month hoping to catch a solar eclipse. This tiny, remote town and surrounding peninsula will be the only place in Australia to experience a total solar eclipse on April 20.
[Does carbon offsetting work? Why your holiday will never be carbon neutral](https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/does-carbon-offsetting-work-why-your-holiday-will-never-be-carbon-neutral-20200124-h1la85.html)
Carbon neutral. Sustainable. For some people these words can be taken as a green stamp in the passport that reads "don't worry about me – my conscience is clear". Sadly, it's not as straightforward as this.
[On a wing and a prayer, Phillip Island residents turn off the lights to give some chicks a chance](https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/on-a-wing-and-a-prayer-phillip-island-residents-turn-off-the-lights-to-give-some-chicks-a-chance-20230413-p5d031.html)
Phillip Island Nature Parks is calling on residents and local businesses in the short-tailed shearwater’s flight path to switch off their lights at night for the next fortnight, as a record-breaking 700,000 short-tailed shearwater chicks take to the sky.
[energy policy](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/energy-policy), [climate change](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/climate-change), [Pacific](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/pacific), [Electric vehicles](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/electric-vehicles), [Floods](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/floods), [Biodiversity](https://blog.greenpeace.org.au/the-canopy/tag/biodiversity)
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Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is expected to hit the Queensland coast this week. Before the cyclone...
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