A red alert is in place for an 800km-stretch of coastline south of Carnarvon to Lancelin. People in those areas are being warned to stay at home or inside an evacuation centre.
Cyclone Seroja Snapped Tree Limbs ‘Like Carrots’
The West Australian town of Kalbarri has suffered widespread damage in the wake of tropical cyclone Seroja, which tore across the midwest coast overnight.
Seroja made landfall south of the town, about 8 p.m. on Sunday, as a category three storm with wind gusts up to 170 km/h.
Kalbarri, which lies 580 kilometres north of Perth, is home to about 1,400 people.
“I’ve never experienced anything in my life like we experienced last night,” resident and caravan park manager Debbie Major told ABC television on Monday.
“It’s only a small town … half of it has been flattened.”