Overview
- Shark Bay, Denham and parts of the Pilbara, which saw the sky turn blood red on Friday, briefly lost daylight as dust cut visibility to near zero and authorities urged people with breathing issues to stay indoors.
- Forecasters say powerful winds lifted iron‑oxide dust from Western Australia’s red soils, and large particles filtered out blue light so red dominated in a process known as Mie scattering, with thick cloud cover deepening the effect.
- Narelle followed a rare triple‑landfall path across Queensland and the Northern Territory before striking Western Australia, then weakened to a subtropical or tropical low by the weekend as rain and stronger winds cleared the haze in many locations.
- Exmouth and nearby towns reported torn roofs, major marina damage and an ‘obliterated’ airport, with multiple rescues and flooding reported as Western Australia announced relief payments of A$2,000 for major damage and A$4,000 for destroyed homes.
- Operations at the country’s two largest LNG plants run by Chevron and Woodside were disrupted, raising short‑term supply concerns as damage assessments and clean‑up efforts continue.