Cyclone threatens Vanuatu, two Australian cyclones ease

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A maximum category five tropical cyclone was heading towards the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Friday, packing destructive winds of up to 185 kph (115 mph) and heavy rain, Vanuatu Meteorological Services (VMS) warned. "The weather is getting wilder by the minute and the capital, like much of the rest of the country, remains in a state of lockdown," UNICEF Pacific spokeswoman Alice Clements said from the capital, Port Vila. Cyclone Pam was upgraded to a category five storm, the most severe rating, but it was not expected to directly hit land, but brush passed Vanuatu on Friday night, possibly causing flash flooding. "Based on the forecast, it will not make landfall, but it will remain very close to the Vanuatu islands," VMS acting director David Gibson said. "If it maintains that forecast, it will cause very destructive winds within the range of hurricane force winds, over 100 knots (185 kph) in some of the islands." The capital Port Vila could face some damage, he said. Another tropical cyclone, Olwyn, carrying winds of more than 165 kph (100 mph) and dumping heavy rain, was moving towards the west coast of Australia, south of the country's biggest iron ore port, Port Hedland, but was expected to weaken during the day, the Bureau of Meteorology said. The Pilbara Ports Authority, which handles most of Australia's iron ore exports, on Thursday closed the port of Dampier, used by world no.2 iron ore miner Rio Tinto, and Ashburton. Those ports remained closed on Friday. Port Hedland was unaffected, a spokeswoman said. A third cyclone, Nathan, off the northeast coast of Australia's Queensland state, was expected to drift north and east away from the coast on Friday, and its strong winds were unlikely to affect the state, the weather bureau said. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Michael Perry)