North-west Australia is already being subjected to the early stages of the storm
Australia's north-west coast is being buffeted by high winds, hours before a powerful cyclone is expected to make landfall as a category four storm.
Weather experts say that the slow speed of Cyclone Rusty is likely to prompt extensive flooding.
As much as 600mm of rain (24in) was being forecast over a 24-hour period.
"We're talking Noah's Ark," one forecaster said. "We're expecting a phenomenal amount of rainfall."
Cyclone Rusty was upgraded to a category four storm early on Wednesday, one notch short of the top category.
At its centre, it had intensified to a strength of 230km/h (143mph), with satellite data indicating the eye of the storm was 20 nautical miles wide, Australian media reported.
FerociousThe arrival of Rusty north of the coastal town of Port Hedland has already closed the three main iron ore ports in the Pilbara region, the world's largest source of iron ore.
Weather experts says that destruction caused by Rusty is likely to get significantly worse
As the storm becomes more ferocious, its strong winds have whipped up six-metre (20ft) waves.
People in Port Hedland have been stocking up on essentials following warnings to take shelter. With storm surges expected, other low-lying areas have been evacuated.
"We are likely to see communities impacted by dangerous and destructive winds for quite a considerable period of time because of the slow movement of the storm," Bureau of Meteorology spokesman Mike Bergin said.
The bureau said that the cyclone had been almost stationary for many hours, hovering about 100km (60 miles) off the coast.
The latest estimate from the bureau is that the worst of the storm will make landfall east of Port Hedland, about 1,300km (800 miles) north of Perth, on Wednesday evening.
"We could see some gusts getting up to nearly 250km/h," forecaster Neil Bennett told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"Some rainfall totals may be as much as 600 millimetres in a 24-hour period."
The bureau has warned that the equivalent of Perth's entire winter rainfall could fall in just three days.
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