Cyclone Narelle Makes Third Landfall in Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has struck Western Australia for a third time, unleashing powerful wind gusts and torrential rainfall across the region. The system made landfall near Coral Bay on Friday night and is currently positioned over the Gascoyne area east of Denham, gradually weakening as it moves rapidly southeast.
Forecast and Widespread Impacts
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued warnings, indicating that the cyclone is expected to continue tracking quickly south-southeast over land while further weakening. Impacts are projected to extend into the Central West before spreading further inland and south across the South West Land Division. The strongest winds are anticipated to remain on the eastern side of the system, with gusts reaching up to 125km/h potentially affecting areas from Carnarvon to Overlander Roadhouse, and possibly impacting Morawa as well.
Heavy rainfall poses a significant risk of flash flooding over the Gascoyne and Central West regions. Residents have reported hearing debris flying outside, highlighting the dangerous conditions.
Extensive Damage and Evacuation Efforts
The fury of Cyclone Narelle has been acutely felt in Exmouth, where a carport was destroyed, and parts of roofs were ripped off numerous houses. Approximately 40 people sought refuge in an evacuation center, only for roof sheets to peel off, making it too hazardous to evacuate them from the damaged building.
Additional destruction includes a service station with smashed windows and torn-apart bowsers, downed trees blocking roads, and a flattened telephone box. A tidal surge has swamped canals, leaving homes underwater. Local residents described the storm as more intense than previous cyclones, with one noting it lasted about 12 hours compared to shorter events.
Authorities have mobilized rapid damage assessment teams to evaluate the destruction over the next 24 hours, prioritizing assistance for those severely impacted by the winds and rainfall.
Major LNG Plant Disruptions
Cyclone Narelle has caused significant disruptions to Australia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, exacerbating global supply issues. The storm forced production outages at the country's two largest LNG plants, operated by Chevron and Woodside.
Chevron reported outages at its Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities, with the Wheatstone platform experiencing a suspension of onshore gas production due to an incident on Thursday. All personnel were safely demobilized ahead of the cyclone. Similarly, Woodside's Karratha gas plant faced disruptions, affecting the North West Shelf project.
Analyst Saul Kavonic estimates that the cyclone is disrupting over 30 million tonnes per year of Australian LNG supply. Combined with Middle East conflicts, this impacts more than a quarter of global LNG supply, potentially worsening gas market tightness in Asia and Europe if production delays persist.
Both companies are working to restore operations once it is safe to do so, with Woodside continuing operations at other facilities like Macedon and Pluto LNG.
