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WA’s wild storms leave a trail of destruction across South West

The West Australian
Storm damage in Bunbury - Building missing roof is Lady Mitchell building that is heritage listed.
Camera IconStorm damage in Bunbury - Building missing roof is Lady Mitchell building that is heritage listed. Credit: Shannon Verhagen/South West Times

Fences destroyed, roofs ripped from their rafters and massive trees uprooted, debris strewn across yards, roads and homes.

Last nights’ storm has left a trail of destruction across the South West as wind gusts reached up to 128kph in Cape Naturaliste and 118kph at Busselton Jetty.

Storm damage in Bunbury - SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in.
Camera IconStorm damage in Bunbury - SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in. Credit: Shannon Verhagen/South West Times

In dramatic scenes, the roof of heritage listed Lady Mitchell building lies crumpled in the car park.

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Storm damage in Bunbury - Building missing roof is Lady Mitchell building that is heritage listed.
Camera IconStorm damage in Bunbury - Building missing roof is Lady Mitchell building that is heritage listed. Credit: Shannon Verhagen/South West Times

SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in.

SES across WA have responded to more than 500 reports since yesterday afternoon.

Storm damage in Bunbury - SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in.
Camera IconStorm damage in Bunbury - SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in. Credit: Shannon Verhagen/South West Times

Bunbury’s cafe strip experienced the storm’s fury. An unpleasant surprise greeted workers at Mojo’s on Victoria Street when they arrived for work.

Mojo’s Cafe in Bunbury was damaged in the storm.
Camera IconMojo’s Cafe in Bunbury was damaged in the storm. Credit: Facebook/Mojo’s Bunbury

The outside area was badly damaged, while inside water flooded the floor and broken glass lay on the ground.

Flooded floors at Mojo’s cafe in Bunbury
Camera IconFlooded floors at Mojo’s cafe in Bunbury Credit: Facebook/Mojo’s Bunbury

“Was lost for words when we turned up this morning, all the excitement of launching our new Lunch Menu dashed as I stared at the front of Mojo’s,” a post on their Facebook page said.

“But all good, onwards & upwards we will still be ready for you at 11 am today ready to serve you Lunch.”

In Cardup, a wayward trampoline ended up in Karlene Miller’s pool.

“Who's up for a bounce and a swim at mine this arvo? Apparently it was a bit windy last night?” she said.

Storm carnage in Carnup.
Camera IconStorm carnage in Carnup. Credit: Facebook/Karlene Miller

Western Power says crews are working to restore supplies to all customers, with about 15,000 without electricity in the Perth metropolitan area and about 24,000 in the south.

“The powerful winds associated with the front have thrown debris, including tree branches and at least one trampoline in Mandurah, into the network damaging equipment and bringing down powerlines,” the company said.

At the peak about 55,000 customers were affected by storm-related outages.

In the southern part of the network Ravenswood, South Yunderup, Myalup, Uduc, Harvey, Busselton, and Dunsborough were the most heavily hit by the storm.

“Our priority at the moment is attending the hazard reports that are still coming in to make them safe,” Western Power said.

“Once the hazards are addressed we will move our efforts to repair and restoration of the network power supply for homes.”

Storm damage in Bunbury - SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in.
Camera IconStorm damage in Bunbury - SES, DFES and rangers are working to clear fallen trees from roads, houses and cars this morning as reports of damage flood in. Credit: Shannon Verhagen/South West Times

The Bureau of Meteorology said wind speeds reached 126km/h at Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin and 120 km/h at Rottnest Island.

Heavy rain was also recorded in some areas including 92mm at Garden Island.

The bureau said the wild weather would persist throughout Wednesday but conditions would gradually ease.

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