‘Once-in-a-decade’ storm expected to hit over a thousand kilometres of WA coastline

A severe weather warning is in place for much of WA’s west coast as the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga brings in a “once-in-a-decade” storm.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga was downgraded to a tropical low overnight as it moved south-west of the Cocos Keeling Islands and towards WA’s north-west coast.

The storm is expected to produce destructive winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour, heavy rainfall and unusually high tides to over 1,000 kilometres of coastline as it travels south from Sunday morning until Monday.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) state manager James Ashley said the breadth of the warning area was unusual, spanning from Karratha to Esperance, including Perth.

“Not only is it unusual for the time of year, it extends across a large part of the state.”

In Perth, the wet weather is forecast to continue throughout the week.

Mr Ashley said it was difficult to pinpoint exactly which areas will be hardest hit by the storms.

“The message is that the whole west coast is at risk with this event, we’re expecting to see multiple centres,” he said.

“While one system might impact the northern half of the coast, another system might impact the south-west.”