00:00Well, we've just had to take cover at a local sporting centre here in Karratha.
00:06We've had another downpour of rain recently.
00:09Tropical cyclone Sean came through last night and really smashed this town, which is about
00:141,500 kilometres north of Perth, with rain.
00:18Wind gusts were more moderate in Karratha, but there has still been some damage.
00:23There's fallen trees around town that local clean-up services are removing today.
00:29We do believe there's been two flood rescues already, emergency services tell us, and there's
00:33been around 40 calls for assistance in relation to this tropical cyclone.
00:38We do also believe there are more than 1,000 homes, both here in Karratha and further south
00:44in Exmouth, which are without power.
00:47Exmouth is currently where the front of the storm has moved to.
00:51It's about five hours south of Karratha, and it's sitting about 180 kilometres off the
00:57coast of Exmouth.
00:58As you said, it's now intensified into a Category 3 system, which will bring more destructive winds.
01:04And how have locals reacted to the record-breaking downpour, Charlie?
01:11Yeah, so it's fair to say that people have been really enjoying the novelty of all this
01:14rain in Karratha.
01:16There's a joke around town that there must be a dome around Karratha because it just
01:19never seems to rain here.
01:21Well, that has well and truly been smashed in the last 24 hours.
01:25The Karratha Airport rain gauge recorded 277 millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours.
01:32The last time the city got anywhere close to that was almost 20 years ago, so it has
01:36broken its January record for annual rainfall totals.
01:41And yesterday, people were really enjoying it.
01:43There were people out with boogie boards, slipping and sliding around different puddles
01:47around town.
01:48In some of the hills just near me, a natural waterfall sprung up and people were swimming
01:54and enjoying that.
01:56Of course, emergency services are still asking people to take precautions if they are out
02:00and about today due to the dangers of floodwaters.
02:05But as we said, it's really now that attention has turned to Exmouth, which is one of the
02:12most popular tourist spots in Western Australia, which is where the brunt of those winds are
02:17going to be felt today.
02:18So there is still an emergency warning in place for residents around there, and they're
02:23being asked to stay inside and just take precautions as those gusts come in this morning and into
02:30the afternoon.
02:31Thank you for the update, Charlie.
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