Tropical Cyclone Sean moving away from western Pilbara coast

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Tropical cyclone Sean is not expected to have any further direct impact on Western Australia’s north west. The category 4 system has peaked in intensity as it continues to move across the Indian ocean away from the Pilbara coast.

Transcript

00:00I'm here at the wharf in Exmouth, where residents of this popular tourist town more than 1,200

00:06kilometres north of Perth are continuing to trickle in to check in on their boats and

00:10assess some of the damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Sean.

00:13Now that Tropical Cyclone peaked as a Category 4 system offshore from Exmouth, but the effects

00:18largely felt overnight and yesterday.

00:21We didn't get as much rain as further north in Karratha, which saw record levels.

00:25The gauges here in Exmouth recorded about 90 millimetres, but also there were winds

00:29exceeding 100 kilometres per hour.

00:32Those high winds combined with the high tide yesterday to create a storm surge.

00:36In town there are some signs of damage and minor flooding, with trees uprooted and damage

00:41to local infrastructure.

00:43Residents though are welcoming in ease of conditions.

00:46Tropical Cyclone Sean has now become a Category 3 system as it tracks away from the WA mainland.

00:53Further south, people in the Gasclone region though are being urged to prepare for abnormally

00:57high tides as that system moves further away.

01:01Many residents lost power overnight as that cyclone came through.

01:04About 261 homes lost electricity yesterday and we've been told repair crews are on the

01:09ground and homes are coming back online as we speak.

01:12200 homes have had their power restored thus far, with 61 homes still waiting for conditions

01:17to become safe enough for those crews to gain access.

01:20Across the whole Pilbara during this cyclone event there were 49 calls to emergency services,

01:25but only one in Exmouth, which perhaps speaks to residents here and their preparation for

01:30these kinds of weather events.

01:32Local SES volunteers are still out in force, they were out on the road yesterday for hours

01:36assisting locals and will be out again today as the clean-up continues, but it's looking

01:41like a fairly straightforward process.

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