Uncertain and destructive: Tropical Cyclone Narelle begins tracking south

Authorities are warning residents to evacuate now if they believe their property won’t be able to sustain the impact of Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle, calling it “destructive” as it batters parts of the Pilbara coast and tracks south.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle is off the coast of Karratha as of Thursday afternoon, and has already left a wake of destruction in parts of the Pilbara with its outer bands.

Authorities report fierce wind and rain has already been seen across the mining hubs of Port Hedland, Dampier, Karratha and the tourist town of Exmouth along the Pilbara coast, and wind gusts have reached a high of about 150km/h off Bedout Island.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s James Ashley said while Narelle is currently sitting primarily out at sea gathering steam, its impact in the Pilbara has already indicated it is a “strong system”.

“Tropical Cyclone Narelle is a severe tropical system, [and] a large and powerful category four system off the Pilbara coast, moving south westwards towards the Exmouth area,” he said.

“The current track of the system has it moving close to Exmouth overnight [Thursday] and in the early hours of [Friday] morning.

“We can expect significant impacts from both wind and rain and potentially even storm surge through the Exmouth area over the next 12 to 18 hours.”

Exmouth residents have been warned to prepare for gusts in excess of 260 kilometres an hour as the eye of the storm passes through, and emergency services commissioner Darren Klemm said residents who planned to evacuate needed to leave as soon as possible before the roads close or the conditions become too dangerous.

Many homes south of Exmouth are not rated to withstand a cyclone, and the Shire of Exmouth has set up an evacuation building at its shire hall as a precaution. There are no evacuation centres available between Kalbarri and Geraldton.

“If your decision is that you’re going to leave your home, make that decision as soon as possible,” Klemm said.

“The cyclone is travelling in a south-westerly direction, but once it moves near the North West Cape and curves southwards, even a slight change in track opens up different possibilities of where it could reach landfall.

“It could be Exmouth, Carnarvon, Denham, or even further south. With so much uncertainty, it’s critical that people stay up to date.”

Trees have fallen over and power is out in parts of Exmouth and Dampier, and the City of Karratha issued a warning to residents as the system passed through.

“We’re seeing trees down, debris on roads and water moving through drains and waterways due to current weather,” a statement said.

“Please stay alert and take extra care … our crews will respond as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Some shopping centres, restaurants, cafés and retail outlets across Karratha and Port Hedland have reduced their hours or closed as the system heads over, and the Pilbara Ports Authority said it had evacuated and closed the ports of Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier and Varanus Island.

Many mine sites have activated emergency protocols to keep their workers safe, and a Chevron Australia spokesperson said they were prepared for the cyclone, with Barrow Island – home to the company’s Gorgon LNG project – almost directly in the system’s path.

“We are implementing our cyclone preparation plans at the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas facilities, and on the Wheatstone platform,” the spokesperson said.

“Non-essential personnel have been demobilised from our facilities, with remaining personnel relocated to purpose-built cyclone-rated accommodation facilities while the cyclone passes off the coast.

“Domestic gas and LNG production continues at the facilities.”

A Perth Airport spokeswoman said there had been about 38 flights to WA’s north cancelled as of Thursday morning.

The Department of Education has also closed more than a dozen schools in the Pilbara as a precaution.

Power is out in parts of Exmouth and in Dampier.

Residents have expressed frustration over an apparent delay to declare a red alert in the Karratha area as the storm passed through, with vision shared to social media appearing to show uprooted trees, fierce winds and cars driving through the intense rain.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned while the impacts the Pilbara so far had been destructive, Narelle was likely only to intensify throughout Thursday afternoon before its coastal crossing at the weekend.

While it currently sits at a category 4 system, the bureau warned there was at least a 30 per cent chance it could spin up into a category 5 system before heading inland and losing steam.

However, the current forecast indicates it will likely cross the coast as a category 3.

“We are looking at a coastal crossing sometime on Friday evening or Friday night,” forecaster Ilana Cherny said.

“It looks [like it will cross] about the Gascoyne coast, somewhere between Coral Bay and Kalbarri, with the Denham area looking like the most likely scenario.

“We are expecting this system to cross as a category 3 severe tropical cyclone.”

Towns south of Exmouth including Denham, Kalbarri and Geraldton are being warned to prepare for conditions similar to those currently being experienced in the Pilbara.

Sandbags are available at state emergency service buildings throughout the towns, and regional airline Rex has put on extra flights to help people evacuate from Denham.

The Shire of Northampton also advised on Thursday all tourists and visitors needed to leave the town as soon as was practical.

“All visitors are being urged to depart today,” the statement said.

“From Friday 27 March, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services have advised that townsites in the Shire of Northampton, including Kalbarri are likely to be moving to a Red Alert.

“Road closures are anticipated from Friday morning, with no access north of Jurien Bay. Travel south will remain open during this period.

“All travellers are advised to relocate to areas south as soon as possible.”

Some residents have already begun evacuating the town as well, heading south to ride out the system in Perth.

Klemm reiterated people needed to make a determination to leave as soon as was practical.

“If you don’t feel physically or mentally strong enough to stay in your home, then you need to relocate to family or friends or indeed, to an evacuation centre,” he said.

Emergency services also said while it was likely the cyclone would weaken as it travelled south toward Perth, residents should still take the same precautions as their northern neighbours.

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