Thousands in dark as high winds batter state

About 30,000 homes and businesses across Western Australia have lost power as a storm hits the southern half of the state.

'Wild weather has started causing havoc in some parts of our network resulting in approx 18,000 properties being impacted by storm outages': Western Power. Picture: Twitter

About 30,000 homes and businesses across Western Australia have lost power as a storm hits the southern half of the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe storm warning for a large chunk of the state, stretching from Onslow in the Pilbara to Esperance on the southern coast.

The bureau has warned of damaging, locally destructive winds of up to 130km/h, heavy rainfall and abnormally high tides.

Paul Entwistle, a spokesman for WA energy supplier Western Power, told ABC radio on Sunday that about 30,000 customers had lost power. Most of the affected customers are in regional towns north of Perth, including Kalbarri, Port Denison, Dongara, Cape Burney and Greenough, although some outages have been reported as far south as Albany.

Eerie scenes in #Northampton, north of #Geraldton, as strong winds are whipping up large amounts of dust, blanketing large areas of the #CentralWest. Keep up to date with the latest Severe Weather Warning: https://t.co/WKZ9NekCiB
Video courtesy: Amery Drage. pic.twitter.com/DfZJA8xATq

— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) May 24, 2020

In a statement, Western Power said some repairs could be made only once the conditions ease.

“We will look to restore power when it is safe to do so, which means safety for the crews and the community will remain our priority,” he said.

Winds of 113km/h have already been recorded at Geraldton airport in WA’s midwest region.

“This is a rare event for WA particularly due to the extent of the area affected and the possibility of multiple areas of dangerous weather,” the bureau said.

There were reports of damage to homes and buildings in Perth as well as numerous trees and fences being blown over across the metropolitan region, with a wind gust of 117km/h recorded in the eastern suburb of Gooseberry Hill.

The winds were expected to intensify on Sunday night as the deep low-pressure system moved beyond Perth and the state’s southwest region.