Australia Weather News
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA is preparing for bushfire season. (August 2025) (good generic) (ABC News: Mya Kordic)
Communities across Western Australia's Pilbaraare picking up the pieces in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle, which caused significant damage to Exmouth and flooding in Onslow.
About 2,000 homes remain without power, as the former cyclone, which was downgraded to a tropical low shortly before 6am, local time, on Saturday, continues to cause wild weather in the Gascoyne and Midwest.
The former cyclone is now tracking north-east of Geraldton as it heads south over land, and is expected to weaken further, but a severe weather warning is in place for most of the state's south-west, east of Perth and north east of Albany.
People in Geraldton, a regional port city with a population approaching 50,000, have been allowed out of their homes after being warned to remain in lockdown from yesterday afternoon.
The system passed overthe tourist hotspot of Exmouth as a category four system yesterday, bringing destructive wind gusts up to 250km/h and ripping roofs from buildings all over the town.
The system was later downgraded to a category three, as it made landfall between Coral Bay and and Cape Cuvier and began to head inland.
[cyclone tracker link]Morawa Shire President Karen Chappel said the community was well prepared, but anxious after a cyclone in previous years hit the Midwest community much harder than expected.
'Pretty full on'
As Cyclone Narelle tore down the iron-ore rich Pilbara coast and across the Gascoyne food bowl region yesterday, it left a trail of damage to housing and infrastructure.
The state's biggest oil and gas companies were forced to halt LNG production at many of their sites.
Energy giants Santos, Chevron, and Woodside all confirmed impacts to critical infrastructure.
Meanwhile, residents described the moments roofs were ripped off across Exmouth, boats sunk in the marina and flooding filled the streets.
Remote locum doctor, Jo Crookes, arrived in Exmouth 10 days ago for work.
The Canberra resident described seeing fallen trees and fences, shredded shade-cloths and hearing loud bangs, as she sheltered in a wardrobe.
"It was a little scary. The water was flooding in under the sliding doors upstairs and it was leaking through some of the light fitting," Ms Crookes said.
"A big panel on the outside balcony got blown off and lots of guttering came down,
"It was pretty full on."
Everything 'dead still, quiet'
Paul Richardson said he caught the eye of the storm at Gnaraloo Station, sitting just south of where Cyclone Narelle crossed the Gascoyne coast.
He said the wind stopped for almost 30 minutes, as the cyclone approached.
"It just goes dead still... quiet," Mr Richardson said.
"Once you feel the wind coming back again, you've got about five minutes and it is absolutely full bore."
Mr Richardson said his goats took advantage of the easing conditions, before he realised what was happening.
"I think they're smarter than us, they knew the eye was coming," he said.
"As soon as it started to get calm, they all got up and walked across the front to hide somewhere else. I was actually considering going with them at one stage."
He said the cyclone significantly damaged the station, ripping up water tanks and part of the homestead's roof.
ABC