Send Indian Ocean Cyclone Intensifying

Posted: 3:50 PM Mar 15, 2012
Reporter: Stephen Bowers

Tropical Cyclone Lua is gaining strength in the Indian Ocean off the northwest coast of Australia.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii says Tropical Cyclone Lua has winds of about 80 mph as of midday Friday (United States - Central Time). The forecast is for Lua to move toward the southeast and make landfall near Port Hedland, Australia with winds of around 100-105 mph. Landfall is expected late Friday or early Saturday.

Tropical cyclones are just another name for what we call "hurricanes" in the United States. In Asia, the storms are called "typhoons."

South America and Antarctica are the only continents not regularly impacted by hurricanes, cyclones, or typhoons.

BBC News says Tropical Cyclone Lua has already led to closures of offshore oilfields.

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