Tropical Cyclone Rusty is moving inland from Pilbara coast of Western Australia. Wind gusts of 165km per hour are expected.
The eye of the storm came ashore just before 3pm (WST) on Wednesday.
Communities between Pardoo and Nullagine were place on red alert late on Wednesday night, with advised to go to shelter immediately.
Rusty will gradually weaken as it moves inland, but AAP reports flooding is expected in the De Grey catchment and possibly in the Fortescue catchment and in coastal streams along the Pilbara on Thursday.
Perth Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre duty forecaster Peter Clegg said the cyclone is expected to weaken over the next two days.
AAP reports Port Hedland, which was initially expected to bear the brunt of the storm, appeared to have come off relatively unscathed.
