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Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle severely damages Exmouth airport and disrupts LNG operations in Western Australia

ByRishav Kothari

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall just south of Coral Bay, Western Australia, on March 27, 2026, bringing destructive winds, heavy rain, and coastal impacts across the northwest coast. The storm caused significant damage in Exmouth, disrupted essential services, and forced the shutdown of major LNG facilities.

tropical cyclone narelle at 0840 utc on march 27 2026 himawari-9 cl

Satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Narelle at 08:40 UTC on March 27, 2026. Credit: JMA/Himawari-9, Zoom Earth, The Watchers

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall in Western Australia on March 27 as a Category 3 system, after passing the Exmouth area as a more intense severe cyclone. ABC reported that winds of around 200 km/h (124 mph) were recorded at Learmonth, while the BoM reported rainfall of more than 300 mm (11.8 inches) at Learmonth air base on Friday night.

Exmouth sustained severe damage as winds of around 200 km/h (124 mph) were recorded at Learmonth. Power and water supplies were cut, and Exmouth Shire president Matthew Niikkula said the airport’s apron and domestic terminal had been “obliterated.”

Flooding and storm damage rendered the only sealed road connecting Exmouth to the surrounding regions impassable, isolating the community. Air and land transport disruptions limited access to and from the town. A cyclone-proof evacuation center also sustained partial roof damage. At least 40 people were sheltering at the facility on the night of March 26.

Essential services in Exmouth were significantly affected, with widespread power outages, water supply disruptions, and communication failures. Damage to petrol stations reduced fuel availability amid the ongoing fuel crisis.

Major Australian gas producers Chevron and Woodside reported cyclone-related disruptions to LNG and gas operations in Western Australia, with the most prolonged impacts reported at Chevron’s Wheatstone facility and Woodside’s Karratha gas plant.

A Woodside spokesperson confirmed production was interrupted at the Karratha Gas Plant, the onshore processing facility for the North West Shelf Project, although limited supply continued from available capacity. Production is expected to resume once workforce access to offshore facilities is restored.

Chevron’s Gorgon facility on Barrow Island experienced winds of about 159 km/h (99 mph) as the cyclone passed west of Port Dampier.

An outage occurred at the offshore Wheatstone platform, located about 225 km (140 miles) offshore, leading to a suspension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and domestic gas production at onshore facilities near Onslow.

Chevron said on March 29 that Gorgon had returned to full production, while Wheatstone was likely to take several weeks to return to full rates as damage assessments and repairs continue.

Across Coral Bay, Carnarvon, and parts of the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions, impacts were less severe, with localized flooding, structural damage, and power outages affecting about 2 000 properties.

Emergency services were deployed across affected areas to assess damage and begin recovery operations, prioritizing restoration of power, water supplies, transport access, and communications.

As of March 29, authorities reported no serious injuries or deaths, though major damage remained across Exmouth and surrounding parts of Western Australia. About 1 400 properties in Exmouth were still without power on Sunday morning as cleanup and restoration continued.

References:

1 Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle downgraded following widespread damage across WA’s northwest – News.com.au – March 28, 2026

2 Cyclone Narelle isolates Exmouth, destroys airport and cuts essential services – ABC News – March 28, 2026.

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

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