Cyclone Seroja Destroys Homes and Electricity On West Coast of Australia

A tropical cyclone off the west coast of Australia destroyed several houses and cut power to tens of thousands of people overnight before weakening Monday morning.

Authorities said that about 70% of structures in the coastal city of Kalbarri, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the state capital, Perth, had suffered damage when the category three storm made landfall on Sunday for the night.

“The devastation caused by Cyclone Seroja is widespread and severe,” Western Australian State Prime Minister Mark McGowan told reporters.

About 40% of the damage was “major,” said Washington Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

A recovery effort is now underway as the greatest threat has passed, McGowan said. There are 31,500 customers still without power, which he said could take days to restore.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja degraded after making landfall to a category two system and then further degraded to a low tropical level, but brought heavy rains and strong winds.

Photos on social media and local broadcasts showed downed power lines, debris, and houses stripped of roofs and walls. Western Australian state authorities opened three evacuation centers for displaced residents.

The region was on high alert for the storm, as houses and other buildings were not built to withstand tropical cyclones, which generally don’t push that far south.