Glenda was tracking roughly parallel to the west Australian coast about 300 kilometers out to sea, but was expected to approach land in the mining region of Pilbara later this week, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"Residents of the central and west Pilbara coast are warned of the risk of very destructive winds with wind gusts exceeding 200 kilometres per hour developing during Thursday as this very dangerous cyclone nears the coast," the bureau said in its latest weather warning.

Emergency workers in the sparsely populated region, some 1,300 kilometres north of Perth, urged residents to batten down in order to avoid a repeat of the devastation caused by another category-five cyclone, Larry, which smashed into the country's tropical northeast on March 20.

Larry destroyed or damaged hundred of homes and wiped out banana and sugar cane crops, leaving a damage bill expected to amount to a billion dollars (707 million US).

Thousands of homes are still without power and many schools and businesses remain closed in the worst hit areas of Queensland state nine days after Larry struck.

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Australian Bureau of Meteorology