Tropical Cyclone Seroja has slammed into the Western Australian coastline, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
It hit just south of Kalbarri as a category-three storm last night, bringing winds of up to 170km/h, before weakening to a category-two as it made its way across land.
As residents and travellers took shelter, the wild weather destroyed the one-mile jetty at Carnavon, and ripped part of the roof off the dolphin-watching resort Monkey Mia.
The Herald-Sun reports that many locals took to social media to reveal their makeshift shelters as the eye of the storm approached. One was hiding in the walk-in wardrobe.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the cyclone then moved toward Geraldton triggering power outages and forcing residents to take refuge by candlelight.
The Carnarvon jetty, which was built in 1897, was torn apart in the middle as it was battered by strong winds and high tides.
Perth Now reports that residents have taken to social media to share their heartbreak over the loss.
Many said they were ‘devastated by this loss’, and called it a ‘very sad day for the town’.
One resident said it was an end to ‘a huge part of our history’.
“The jetty might be gone, but memories last forever,” she said.
Police Commissioner Chris Dawson urged people to take care around fallen power lines and linked the electrocution death of a man in Coral Bay yesterday to the storm.
The Herald-Sun reports that Seroja is now tracking across the Wheatbelt.
