Tropical Cyclone Narelle slammed into Western Australia's northwest late last week, leaving a trail of destruction through towns and rural properties across the vast Gascoyne region.
But Narelle, which peaked in its fury as a category four storm near the coastal town of Exmouth, wasn't the first extreme weather event to ravage the area in 2026.
The severe storm followed Tropical Cyclone Mitchell and an extreme heat event earlier in the year, both of which had severe impacts in the food-bowl region near Carnarvon, about 900km north of Perth.
"Nature is bashing us about at the moment," Carnarvon Shire President Eddie Smith told AAP on Tuesday.
"The horticultural district has once again been impacted, the pastoral industry in the Gascoyne has been impacted, and the fishing industry has been impacted.
"All the primary production and tourism in the Gascoyne have been impacted by these weather events that we've been struck with."
It was too early to put a dollar figure on the damage across the region, Mr Smith said.
"There's damage that's really long-term damage and vast damage for properties," he said.
"Homesteads destroyed, tens of thousands of kilometres of fence line destroyed, and for the fishing industry, there are seagrass beds that could be destroyed, that's going to impact the Shark Bay region."
The weather events have been so close together that many business operators found themselves still in recovery mode as they were battening down ahead of Narelle.
The skyrocketing price of fuel is only adding to their pain, Mr Smith saidÂ
"It's turning into the biggest perfect storm anybody could be struck by," he said.
Narelle, which packed winds in excess of 250km/h near Exmouth, also delivered plenty of rain.
Roads in the region are closed due to flooding and damage, but it's not all bad news - the dry Gascoyne River is flowing again.
"That gives us certainty of water supply for the horticultural district for the next 18 months to two years," Mr Smith said.
"Some of the pastoral properties that were in a severe drought, that's been broken."
WA Premier Roger Cook visited agricultural properties near Carnarvon on Tuesday.
"Some people have had whole crops or whole years of work just put to waste overnight, and it's really quite confronting to see it," he said.
"It's really difficult, and our hearts go out to everyone who's been impacted."
Crews are assessing damage to infrastructure, properties and livestock across the region, he said.
Carnarvon fruit and vegetable growers have reported widespread losses from Narelle.
In the east of the region, Upper Gascoyne Shire President Jim Caunt said buildings suffered storm damage and the region's mainly dirt-road system was likely to have taken a hammering.
Cattle stations in the shire's west got around 100mm of welcome rain, but the eastern end received zero, while also copping strong winds and big dust storms.
"It's been an absolutely horrendous summer out there the last couple of years," he said.
"It's about as tough as I've seen it for man, beast and country.
"So everybody who got the rain are over the moon and those that didn't get the rain are wondering what the bloody hell they've done wrong."
In the northeast, crews in Exmouth continue work repairing roads and the power and water supply, as tourists are evacuated from the remote town.
The storm also devastated the nearby World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, with pictures emerging of marine life, including dolphins, washed up on nearby beaches.
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