In brief:
- Tropical Cyclone Narelle has re-intensified off the the northern coast of Western Australia.
- It will sweep south along the coastline over the next few days, bringing damaging winds and heavy rain.
An isolated town has been left deserted, and rooftops have been torn apart as a powerful cyclone wreaks havoc across coastal regions.
Torrential rains have inundated homes, while reports indicate that boats have sunk as Cyclone Narelle sweeps along Western Australia’s northwest coast, bringing winds strong enough to cause buildings to tremble.
Exmouth, a popular holiday destination located 1,250 kilometers north of Perth, bore the brunt of Narelle’s wrath overnight. The category four cyclone unleashed winds surpassing 250 kilometers per hour.
“The extremely destructive core of the cyclone just missed Exmouth, but the town has still been hit hard,” stated Darren Klemm, Commissioner of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, on Friday.
“We anticipate seeing considerable damage from this event,” he added.
Police and members of the defence force are moving about 50 people to a local church after the roof of the town’s evacuation centre was damaged.
“No reports of injuries at this time,” Klemm said.
Power has been lost in the town of about 2800 people, with emergency crews holed up due to the dangerous conditions.
“The eye of the cyclone has passed Exmouth but the town is still being impacted and it’s likely to stay at emergency warning until the middle of this afternoon,” Klemm said.
Narelle was heading south near Coral Bay as a category three storm on Friday afternoon and was expected to make landfall and pass to the east of Carnarvon in the afternoon.
The storm is likely to weaken to a category two system once it’s over land, but residents in Kalbarri and Geraldton have been warned they could still be impacted by damaging winds into the early hours of Saturday.
“The worst of the winds will be in areas near and to the east of the cyclone’s track,” meteorologist James Ashley said.
Exmouth Shire president Matthew Niikkula said roofs had lifted off houses and many others were flooded.
“Not a person in town would have got any sleep last night … screaming winds, lots of bangs, everyone’s house shaking, sitting in the dark with their candles or their torch,” he said.
“It’s a really, really terrifying experience.”
Exmouth local and digital creator Craig Kitson said trees and fences had been toppled near his home, and there were reports of boats sunk in the marina and a significant storm surge impacting the town.
“People have lost their houses from what I’ve heard, and there’s people that have definitely lost their roofs … anyway you look at it, it’s a significant impact,” he said.
Tourism operator Murray Pattison’s family evacuated from the town on the last flight to Perth.
He has been holed up in a concrete home with friends and said it was a wild night as the cyclone passed the town.
“It’s been howling and roaring,” he said.
“We’re very fortunate. I’ve just got a bit of water coming in, but there are people who have had roofs come off, houses completely flooded.
“Hopefully, we can just get to the other side of this and band together as a town and help those who need it.”
Narelle reformed from a tropical low after leaving a trail of destruction across parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.
It’s the first time a cyclone has hit the three jurisdictions since Ingrid made three crossings in 2005.
The system is set to weaken as it moves southeast on Saturday and passes east of Perth before moving out over the Southern Ocean.
Heavy rain is forecast for Perth, but severe winds are unlikely.
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