Australia Weather News

It's famed for its turquoise waters, stunning coral reefs and bountiful fish stocks — but today the tourist hotspot of Exmouth, on WA's northern coast, is being described as akin to a war zone.

The town, about 1,200 kilometres north of Perth, is reeling after Tropical Cyclone Narelle tore through the region as a category four system, packing wind gusts of up to 250 kilometres an hour at its peak — and Exmouth was almost directly in its path.

Power and water supplies were cut to the town — though they are in the process of being restored — and the local airport "obliterated", shire president Matthew Nikkula said.

With the one sealed road to the town currently cut by floodwaters, it means the town has been effectively isolated.

The town's hospital is also without power and water, Mr Nikkula said.

“The place really looked like a war zone."

Roofs have been torn from buildings, the town's marina had been badly damaged, and even a supposedly cyclone-proof evacuation centre, where around 40 people were sheltering on Thursday night, had part of its roof peeled back.

It's not the first time the town has been forced to rebuild after a devastating cyclone.

When Cyclone Vance struck the town in 1999, an estimated 70 per cent of buildings were damaged, necessitating a large-scale rebuilding operation that took months.

Tourism trouble

Narelle has struck at a very inconvenient time for Exmouth.

The Easter school holidays begin next week and accommodation in the town and nearby Coral Bay had been solidly booked for months.

Easter also signals the start of grey nomad season, when thousands of people embark on trips to WA's north in search of winter sunshine.

Exmouth is a prime destination on the route, with its spectacular snorkelling at Ningaloo Reef, famous for its whale sharks and iridescent corals.

Mr Nikkula said the town's airport has sustained extensive damage.

The runway at Learmonth, which is one of the longest in the state, is shared by the RAAF and commercial airlines.

"Our apron and our domestic terminal has been obliterated," Mr Nikkula said.

"All the windows have blown out, the ceilings are in, the electrical switchboards are torn apart.

"There will be no Qantas, no RPT [regular public transport], for the foreseeable future."

Vision from the town shows extensive damage to the marina and both commercial and residential buildings.

"Trees down, roofs off, fences and sheds blown away and just absolute destruction around the place," Mr Nikkula said.

There have been no reported injuries.

Fuel supplies cut

Mr Nikkula said fuel supplies had been impacted because of damage to service stations, although emergency crews had brought their own supply into the town.

"There will be no fuel available for at least another day or two," he said.

Mr Nikkula said emergency crews were working throughout the town to restore services, and the community was banding together.

"Our number one priority obviously is to re-establish our basic infrastructure for the community," he said.

"The community has been amazing through this, as all small communities do. 

"We all rode through it together and now we'll all pull together to get out of it as fast and as easy as we can."

'Worst we've seen'

After a weakened Narelle crossed the coast, it still caused immense damage to homes and communities in its southerly path.

Cattle, sheep and goat farmer Brett Hopkinson from Hill Springs Station in the Gascoyne said Narelle was the worst cyclone his family had experienced in their more than 35 years living there.

"We've had strong blows before but nothing like this one," he said.

"My parents' house is gone … roof, verandah, ceiling and everything."

Mr Hopkinson said there had also been significant damage to windmills and sheds, and rain inundation in his home after the roof was damaged.

"It'll be a long road to recovery, and being out here isolated it doesn't happen overnight," he said.