Cyclone Seroja causes damage in western Australia, no serious injuries reported

Around 70 per cent of buildings in Kalbarri, a town of 1,400 people, 580 kilometers north of the state capital Perth, has been damaged because of the destructive cyclone Seroja on Australia’s western coast. However, there have been no reports of serious injuries as of now, reports the Associated Press. The tropical cyclone crossed the Western Australia state coast south of the tourist town of Kalbarri with winds gusting up to 170 kph. Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said that about 30 per cent of the damage was “significant”.

Cyclone Seroja

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, in a statement, said that the wind gusts recorded in Kalbarri and other close areas were likely to have been the “strongest in more than 50 years”. As per the government utility Western Power, 31,500 customers had lost power supply. Many social media users took to their handles and shared images.

No more severe weather 

As per the recent update by the Bureau of Meteorology in Western Australia, no more severe weather is expected now. Taking to its official Twitter handle, the department said, "Seroja's track across WA first as a Cat 3 Severe Tropical Cyclone crossing the coast & eventually as a Tropical Low. No more severe weather is expected. We will continue to serve the communities affected and work with all relevant agencies to help with recovery efforts as we can".

Landslides in Indonesia 

This comes after at least 177 people have died in flash floods and landslides caused by Tropical Cyclone Seroja in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province. Several villages in the region have been cut off due to rock slides. Cyclone Seroja on April 5 made landfall and brought torrential rain and cold lava floods in East Indonesia. 

The villages in the region are still recovering from the damage caused including those in the Kupang district. The authorities will deploy helicopters and ferries to distribute food and other essentials to the people living in these areas, news agency ANI quoted the province's Deputy Governor Josef Nae Soi as saying in a virtual press conference jointly held with the National Disaster Management Agency. The deaths reported in the districts of East Flores stands at 72.

(Image Credits: Twitter/Mark_Mudie/IAmAngusMack)