Residents told to ‘shelter indoors now’ as Tropical Cyclone Mitchell passes west of Carnarvon, warning remains

Dangerous wind gusts, heavy rainfall and abnormally high tides are expected to lash the West Australian coastline in the coming hours as a category one cyclone crosses the coast.

Tropical Cyclone Mitchell is passing to the west of Carnarvon, with the warning zone extended inland through to the southwestern Gascoyne.

Winds near the centre of the system are set to reach 85 km/h, while gusts of up to 120km/h are expected.

The cyclone is moving south along the Gascoyne coast, and is expected to maintain category one strength until it makes landfall, when it will then start moving inland to the southeast.

A cyclone watch and act has been issued by Emergency WA for north of Ningaloo to Carnarvon including Coral Bay, urging people in the warning zone to “stay in your home or shelter for safety”.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said residents could expect to see Cyclone Mitchell “graze” the coastline as soon as within the next hour or two.

“It hasn’t crossed yet but it’s expected to do so in the next couple of hours,” Mr How said, adding that residents should prepare for lashing rain and wind to build along the coastline.

There’s also a possibility the cyclone may not cross the coast until the early hours of Tuesday morning, at which point it would be further down the coast from Carnarvon.

Mr How said the system was likely to be downgraded to a low pressure system later on Tuesday and would continue making its way south down the coast towards Geraldton, bringing a severe weather warning to Geraldton and the Northern Wheatbelt.

People in areas across Geraldton, Kalbarri, Mount Magnet, Dalwallinu, Eneabba and Northampton have been issued storm advice and warned to expect severe weather including heavy rainfall and damaging winds early Tuesday morning.

Perth will be hit with some rain, but “spared the worst,” Mr How said.

Dangerous conditions also forced the closure of several Pilbara Ports, including Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier, and Varanus Island remaining closed on Monday. Operations at Port Hedland port have resumed.

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia said no reports of damage had been reported to mining operations as of Monday afternoon.

“Tropical Cyclone Mitchell continues to be monitored as it crosses the Gascoyne coast, since the safety and wellbeing of our workforce is paramount,” CME Director of Policy, Anita Logiudice said.

“It will take some time to assess the full impact of Cyclone Mitchell, particularly from wind damage and the risk of flash flooding associated with heavy rain, though CME can confirm it has not received any reports of major damage to our members’ mining operations at this stage.

“It’s worth noting that, given the risk to supply chains from flooding and other impacts of extreme weather events, the importance of reliable and robust all-weather freight networks can’t be under-estimated.”

Residents in WA’s north were earlier on Monday urged to shelter indoors ahead of potential flash flooding and more intense rainfall as Cyclone Mitchell impacted coastal areas including Exmouth.

Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said the cyclone was still a “really powerful weather system” despite it losing intensity.

He said the cyclone “narrowly” missed the coast on Sunday.

“Legendre Island recorded a wind gust of 169km/h as the tropical cyclone passed early on Sunday,” Mr Hines said.

“And a little bit later on in the day, 148km/h gusts were recorded at Barrow Island over the mainland.”

Strong winds have also been at Onslow (120km/h), Karratha (100km/h) and Mardie (96km/h).”

Mr Hines said trees had come down as a result of the winds.

“Despite staying off the coastline, the tropical cyclone did cross directly over some of the Pilbara islands and that showed us the full force of the winds with this weather system,” he said.

Mr Hines said 124mm of rain had been recorded in Karratha over the weekend and that heavier rainfalls had occurred in the north-west.

“Flooding remains a concern near and along the path of the tropical cyclone, not just around the western Pilbara and the Gascoyne regions for Monday, but also in the coming days as this decaying tropical cyclone plunges southwards into the interior of Western Australia.,” he said.

Horizon Power said 1675 customers in Exmouth were without power. It is estimated power will be restored by 4pm on Monday.

A cyclone emergency warning remained in place for residents in Ningaloo Coast and south to the Wooramel Roadouse, which includes Coral Bay and Carnarvon. The warning extends inland through parts of the western Pilbara and western Gascoyne.

The warning in Exmouth was downgraded to a watch and act on Monday, but a possible threat to lives and homes remained.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has urged against people leaving their homes, instead advising to shelter in the safest part of a building.

At least seven calls for assistance were made to State Emergency Services by Monday morning. A DFES spokeswoman said the majority of calls were from Karratha in regards to damaged trees and roof damage.

The cyclone is moving in a south south-westerly direction at a speed of 13km/h, according to a 6am update.

It is expected to move south towards the coastlines of Ningaloo and Carnarvon on Monday morning before tracking southeast, crossing the Gascoyne coastline and continuing over land as a category two system on Monday night.

At least 17 schools have been forced to close on Monday as a result of the cyclone.

Share Bay Recreation Centre, Exmouth Shire Hall, Onslow Multi Purpose Centre and Carnarvon PCYC have been converted into evacuation centres.

Residents are advised that pets are not allowed at the centres for health and safety reasons, unless they are recognised assistance animals.

For the latest cyclone updates visit EmergencyWA.