Updated ,first published
Residents in the tourist town of Exmouth are faced with a massive cleanup effort ahead, after bearing the brunt of one of the strongest weather systems the region has seen in decades.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle crossed the West Australian coast in Coral Bay on Friday afternoon as a category 3 system, bringing a deluge of rain and gale force winds.
Local conservation groups have urged the community to keep an eye out for injured wildlife, after witnessing “devastating scenes” along the Ningaloo coastline in the aftermath of the storm.
Balu Blue posted to Instagram on Saturday evening, showing video of “countless seabirds … many turtle hatchlings, fish, sea snakes, eels, crustaceans and so much more” washed up on shore.
“Nyinggulu coastline has been severely impacted by Cyclone Narelle. Today on the west side of the cape … [we saw] the impacts the cyclone had on our coastline and these are some of the devastating scenes we uncovered,” they wrote.
“Some species washed in you don’t see much while out in the water. Our heart is breaking for the beautiful reef and our wildlife.
“We helped what we could get back to the sea and [we have] taken in many animals that are now in care.”
The tourist town was cut off in every direction by road as 350 millimetres of rain hit from Friday evening, with wind gusts of up to 250 kilometres per hour.
Flights have also been cancelled with the airport significantly damaged.
Boats were tipped over and damaged, including trawlers which were just weeks from heading out for prawn season.
On Sunday morning, a number of roads along the Great Northern Highway, North West Coastal Highway and Indian Ocean Drive remain closed due to water inundation.
The State Emergency Service received 96 calls for help in the region – the majority from Exmouth, as the cyclone tore off roofs, uprooted trees, flooded homes and cut power.
“It is certainly one of the strongest systems we have seen for that area in recent decades,” Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Jessica Lingard said.
Exmouth resident Matt Carroll told 9News Perth that the damage was “pretty daunting just seeing everything turned upside down like that”.
“But when you see some of the homes that roofs ripped off and ceilings gone, you realise just how lucky you are,” he said.
Saturday night was the third without power for many in the town, but regional provider Horizon Power restored power to 250 customers by Sunday morning.
The majority of residents in Carnarvon were also reconnected, with just 44 homes left without power.
“Additional crews are on their way to support local crews to restore power to affected properties as soon as it is safe to do so,” they said in a statement.
“Due to the extent of damage on the ground, restoration times are currently unknown, and some areas may take an extended period of time to restore power.”
The outage map has temporarily been removed from the website due to the uncertainty.
Exmouth Shire President Matthew Niikkula said the town had suffered “extensive damage”, with many residents without running water.
But he said there were no injuries reported as a result of the storm.
Premier Roger Cook said his message for the community was “we’ve got your back, and help is coming”. He said he would travel to the Gascoyne region on Monday to meet those impacted in person.
Relief payments between $1000 and $4000 will be available to help with accommodation, purchasing essential food or securing emergency transport.
“The worst appears to be behind us. Heavy rainfall and damaging winds are now no longer expected in the state south, allowing resources to be deployed to the north to assist in the recovery,” he said.
Four structures in Exmouth have been destroyed, seven have severe damage, 12 have moderate damage and eight have slight damage.
Those numbers are expected to increase across Sunday as more assessment is done.
There are also 30 pastoral properties in the region that received extensive damage and there has also been significant damage to crops in and around Carnarvon.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the volume of the water laying throughout the Northwest Cape, and as far south as Carnarvon, was significant.
“We really do want people to be patient in terms of the roads. It’s going to take a long time for that for the water to dissipate. Some of those roads are significantly underwater,” he said.
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Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.
