Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
A tropical cyclone nearing Australia is forecast to be the most powerful storm in eight years to hit the country, bringing wind gusts of up to 315 kilometres (196 miles) per hour as it crosses the northwest coast, meteorologists said Thursday.
Cyclones are common along the sparsely populated Pilbara coast of Western Australia state and fatalities are rare, but authorities fear that Cyclone Ilsa's extraordinary wind speeds could take some in its path by surprise.
Ilsa reached the highest Category 5 intensity Thursday over the Indian Ocean and is expected to maintain that destructive level as it crosses the Pilbara coast by early Friday, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.
Category 5 cyclones have mean wind speeds exceeding 200 kph (124 mph) with gusts exceeding 280 kph (174 mph). They typically cause widespread destruction, the bureau said.
The last Category 5 storm to cross the Australian coast was Cyclone Marcia in 2015. Marcia caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in the east coast state of Queensland.
In 2019, Category 5 Cyclone Veronica did not cross the Pilbara coast, but damaged infrastructure and disrupted the region's mining and offshore gas industries.
Ilsa is expected to cross the coast somewhere in a 220-kilometre (137-mile) span between the iron ore export town of Port Hedland and Wallal Downs Station, a 200,000-hectare (500,000-acre) cattle ranch to the east.
Those close to where Ilsa makes landfall will experience gusts of up to 315 kph (196 mph), the bureau said.
The storm's expected landfall is near the remote Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern where manager Will Batth planned to shelter.
"We haven't had any as strong as this in many years. This is a big one," Batth said. "There's no point in worrying. I can't stop it."
On Thursday, police closed the highway along the Pilbara coast between Port Hedland and the tourist town of Broome, 610 kilometres (380 miles) to the northeast, to prevent motorists from risking the worsening conditions. Authorities expect the North West Coastal Highway will be impassable due to flooding before Ilsa passes.
Port Hedland and Broome are the largest population centres in the Pilbara region with 16,000 and 15,000 people respectively.
Bidyadanga, home to around 700 people midway between Wallal Downs Station and Broome, stocked enough food and fuel by Thursday to last a week in case the community is isolated by floodwater. Bidyadanga CEO Tania Baxter said maintaining the community's electricity would be critical to how they weather the storm.
"Without power, we haven't got water and possibly even communications," Baxter said. "So if we can maintain power supply, then we'll be fine. We'll manage everything else that comes with it and any damage that comes."
Many in the cyclone's path have evacuated in recent days. In Port Hedland, from which the world's largest bulk export port sends Australian iron ore around the globe, evacuation centers have opened to people whose homes might not withstand the storm, Mayor Peter Carter said.
"Everyone is on edge," Carter said. "They understand that cyclones are what they are. They're very, very unpredictable."
Long-term Port Hedland resident Julie Arif, who has experienced several cyclones, said she was concerned for those in Ilsa's path.
"They'll be prepared and riding it out. But it is still terrifying, absolutely terrifying," Arif said. "When you're inside in a house and there's just the roar of the wind outside and thumping and banging and crashing. And cyclones happen at nighttime. You don't know what it is and it's frightening."
The weather bureau warned of damaging winds, flooding rain and abnormally high tides along the Pilbara coast as Ilsa passes.
Many people in the Pilbara region are involved in the mining and cattle industries or are tourists taking advantage of the school vacation period that began this week.
This story corrects that the most recent Category 5 cyclone to cross Australia's coast was Marcia in 2015, not Yasia in 2011.
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
Two nephews of the beloved Harry R. Hamilton share stories about his life and legacy.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says that Tom Homan, his former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as "border czar" in his incoming administration.
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.
Rod Ashby was desperate to find his wife Kim Ashby after their newly built home in Elk Park, North Carolina, was swept away by Hurricane Helene鈥檚 floodwaters in late September and she went missing.
It was the first time that Canadian UN peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country's predicament.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik to be UN ambassador.
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.