- Published
Tropical cyclone Seroja has hit the coast of Western Australia, leaving a trail of damage.
The category three storm made landfall near the town of Kalbarri on Sunday night, with gusts of up to 170km/h (105mph) reported.
It later weakened to a category two system, but the Bureau of Meteorology warned of continuing "damaging wind gusts, and heavy rain".
Thousands of homes are said to be without power.
Officials are braced for high levels of damage to buildings in the region due to the properties not being constructed to withstand such conditions.
One Kalbarri resident told the West Australian newspaper that he was forced to hide in a pantry with his pregnant wife and their dog.
"I heard a few windows smash and some loud bangs. I went upstairs to check and felt that it was raining. I didn't look up but I am guessing I have lost some of my roof," Jason Regan said.
Darius Winterfield, a reporter for Channel 9 news in Kalbarri, lost the roof to his balcony and said the storm "will be devastating for many come first light".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on TwitterBefore the storm hit, state Premier Mark McGowan warned that the cyclone was "like nothing we have seen before in decades".
Residents in the area 500km (about 310 miles) north of Perth were urged to evacuate as the cyclone accelerated towards the shore.
Emergency services opened shelters ahead of the storm's arrival.
Last month, areas of eastern Australia were evacuated as rivers and dams overflowed in the worst floods in decades, with around 18,000 people displaced.
Related Topics
-
- Published
- 22 March
-
- Published
- 22 March
from Via PakapNews