Marine life washes up on Ningaloo beaches after Cyclone Narelle
Updated ,first published
Residents of the tourist town of Exmouth face a major clean-up effort after bearing the brunt of one of the strongest weather conditions the area has seen in decades.
Former Tropical Cyclone Narelle crossed the Western Australian coast in Coral Bay on Friday afternoon as a category 3 system, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds.
Local conservation groups have urged the community to be wary of injured wildlife after witnessing “devastating scenes” along the Ningaloo coastline following the storm.
Balu Blue posted on Instagram Saturday evening showing video of “countless seabirds…many turtle hatchlings, fish, sea snakes, eels, crustaceans and much more” washed ashore.
“Nyinggulu coastline was severely affected by Cyclone Narelle. Today on the western side of the cape… [we saw] “The effects of the hurricane on our coastline and these are some of the devastating scenes we have uncovered,” they wrote.
“Some of the species that bathe in you can’t see much when they’re in the water. Our hearts break for the beautiful reefs and wildlife.
“We helped those we could take back to the sea and [we have] they took in many animals that are currently in care.
Since Friday evening, due to 350 millimeters of rain and winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, highway transportation to the tourist town has been cut off in all directions.
While major damage occurred at the airport, flights were also canceled.
Boats were overturned and damaged, including trawlers that were just weeks away from leaving for shrimp season.
Some roads along the Great Northern Highway, North West Coast Highway and Indian Ocean Drive remained closed due to flooding on Sunday morning.
As the cyclone blew off roofs, uprooted trees, flooded homes and cut power, the State Emergency Service received 96 calls for help in the area, the majority from Exmouth.
“This is definitely one of the strongest systems we’ve seen for this region in recent years,” Bureau of Meteorology mission forecaster Jessica Lingard said.
Exmouth resident Matt Carroll told 9News Perth the damage was “pretty scary to see everything turned upside down like that”.
“But when you see the roofs blown off and the ceilings blown off some of the houses, you realize how lucky you are,” he said.
Saturday night was the third night without power for many in the town, but regional provider Horizon Power restored power to 250 customers on Sunday morning.
Internet connectivity has been restored to the majority of Carnarvon residents, leaving only 44 homes without power.
“Additional crews are on their way to support local teams to restore power to affected properties as soon as it is safe to do so,” it said in a statement.
“Due to the extent of damage on the ground, restoration times are unknown at this time and in some areas it may take an extended period of time for power to be restored.”
The outage map has been temporarily removed from the website due to uncertainty.
Exmouth Shire Chairman Matthew Niikkula said the town had suffered “major damage” and many residents were left without running water.
“The airport has sustained major damage to the terminal so we will not be able to receive or dispatch regular passenger aircraft for some time. The runway itself has sustained major damage, the RAAF is working to clear this and repair it as quickly as possible so we can get some support aircraft in,” he said.
“Right now, everyone is on emergency power and we are still disconnected by road and air at the moment, except for the helicopter.”
Niikkula said no injuries were reported due to the storm.
Prime Minister Roger Cook said his message to the community was: “We’ve got your back and help is on the way.” He said he would travel to the Gascoyne region on Monday to meet personally with those affected.
Relief payments of $1,000 to $4,000 can be made to help provide lodging, basic food purchases, or emergency transportation.
“The worst appears to be behind us. Heavy rains and destructive winds are no longer expected in the south of the state, allowing resources to be deployed north to aid recovery,” he said.
Four structures in Exmouth were destroyed, seven with significant damage, 12 with moderate damage and eight with minor damage.
These numbers are expected to increase on Sunday as more evaluations are made.
There was also serious damage to crops in Carnarvon and the surrounding area, with 30 pastoral properties in the area also suffering major damage.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the amount of water accumulating along the Northwest Cape and as far south as Carnarvon was significant.
“We really want people to be patient with the roads. It’s going to take a long time for the water to dissipate. Some of these roads are significantly under water,” he said.
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Holly Thompson is a journalist at WAtoday specializing in education and the environment.Connect with: X or email.
