A WA truck driver has been rescued by emergency services after his road train washed off a Pilbara bridge and was partially submerged as floodwaters from Tropical Cyclone Zelia intensify.
WA’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services was alerted to the incident on Rippon Hills Road, Marble Bar, about 10.10am yesterday and dispatched a helicopter from Newman.
The male driver was rescued about 1pm and was taken to Woody Woody minesite for a health assessment, according to local media reports.
While the condition of the man is unknown, helicopter crew have confirmed he is “not incapacitated”.
Rippon Hills Road between Marble Bar Road and Telfer Mine Turn Off had been closed since 7.10am yesterday.
In a media statement late yesterday, Main Roads said it was expecting widespread impact to the State’s North West road network once tropical Cyclone Zelia crosses the Pilbara coastline as a category 5 system later today.
Heavy rain is expected to impact the Great Northern Highway (GNH) and the North West Coastal Highway as well as other major routes and local roads, Main Roads said.
Main Roads Chief Operating Officer Des Snook also warned of the dangers of road users ignoring ‘road closed’ signs.
“A ‘road closed’ sign means exactly that: The road is closed,” Snook said. “Apart from the obvious danger people place themselves in by trying to navigate a flooded, closed road there is the issue of damaging the road surface.
“There are penalties for road users ignoring road closures. I urge all road users to defer non-essential travel, avoid flood affected areas, obey road closure signs and heed information provided through road condition updates.”
Residents in parts of the Pilbara region, including those in Port Hedland, have been told it is too late to leave their properties as Tropical Cyclone Zelia approaches the coast.
The emergency warning covers an area from Pardoo Roadhouse to Whim Creek, and inland west of Marble Bar.
For the latest on Zelia, keep up to date at Emergency WA and on the Main Roads Travel Map.