Northern Australia is bracing for a Category 5 tropical cyclone that is expected to bring “very destructive winds” to its coastline on Friday.

Tropical Cyclone Zelia rapidly strengthened off the coast of Western Australia on Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology, Australia's national weather service, said the cyclone was Category 4 on Wednesday,

Very destructive winds of up to 290 kilometers per hour' are likely close to center of Cyclone Zelia as it crosses coast, Australian Bureau of Meteorology says