Take action severe weather's on the way

If you live in the Lower West, South West and parts of Central West and South Coastal districts. you should take action and stay safe with severe weather to come.

Locations which may be affected include Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalbarri, Mandurah, Manjimup, Margaret River, Moora and Perth.

People in the Central West may experience this type of weather each year at this time but winds and rain may cause damage to property and make road conditions hazardous.

WHAT TO DO:

DFES advises you to:

If outside find safe shelter away from trees, powerlines, storm water drains and streams.

Close your curtains and blinds, and stay inside away from windows.

Unplug electrical appliances and avoid using landline telephones if there is lightning.

If there is flooding, create your own sandbags by using pillow cases filled with sand and place them around doorways to protect your home.

If boating, swimming or surfing leave the water.

IF DRIVING:

Do not drive into water of unknown depth and current.

Slow down, turn your lights on and keep a safe distance from other drivers.

Be alert and watch for hazards on the road such as fallen powerlines and loose debris.

If it is raining heavily and you cannot see, pull over and park with your hazard lights on until the rain clears.

People are being urged to do what they can to help themselves, if it is safe to do so, before calling the SES for assistance.

Take care in areas that have been flooded and be careful driving on gravel roads as surfaces will be slippery and muddy, and vehicles could become bogged.

WEATHER DETAILS:

At 1.28pm on February 6, 2021, the Bureau of Meteorology advised that a low pressure system was located 110 kilometres northwest of Kalbarri.

The low will move southwards during the weekend while remaining offshore from the west coast.

It is expected to lie due west of Geraldton around 3am Sunday and pass west of Perth Sunday evening before passing close to the Southwest Capes in the early hours of Monday morning.

The low will produce strong to gale force winds over the ocean as it moves south and gusty winds over land, with heavy rainfall only on the southern side of the system.

Heavy rainfall is currently occurring over the Central West and will extend into the Lower West district this afternoon and evening, including the Perth Metropolitan area.

The heavy rain will extend across the South West district early on Sunday. Daily totals of 20 to 40 millimetres are forecast with isolated falls up to 100 millimetres possible.

Once the low is south of an area rainfall will ease.

Tides are also likely to be higher than predicted along the west coast north of Perth on Saturday and north of Augusta on Sunday.

In these areas tides may rise above the normal high tide mark with rough seas and potential flooding of low-lying coastal area with the evening high tides.

Fresh and gusty easterly winds will continue south of the system. As the Low moves past, winds will shift northerly and in coastal areas damaging winds averaging 60 to 70 kilometres per hour with peak gusts to around 100km per hour are possible.

Once the low is south of an area winds will ease.

Rainfall from 9am to 10pm WST Saturday: Hill River Springs 62mm, Moora 36mm, Badgingarra 36mm, Jurien Bay 33mm.

Visit bom.gov.au/wa/warnings/ for a map of the impact areas.

ROAD CLOSURES AND CONDITIONS:

Heavy rainfall in the area means some roads could be impacted by rising water levels and strong wind gusts could make travel dangerous.

Motorists are reminded to obey all road closures and take care when travelling through the area. Never drive into water of unknown depth and current.

A number of roads are closed. Other roads are open to specific vehicles only such as four wheel drives and trucks. Others are open with caution. Please visit the Main Roads WA Travel Map for full details at travelmap.mainroads.wa.gov.au

Road information may also be available from Main Roads WA by calling 138 138 or by contacting your Local Government Authority.

WHAT EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE DOING:

DFES is monitoring the situation.

Emergency services have answered more than 14 calls for help since 9am Friday.

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE:

If your home has been badly damaged by a storm, call the SES on 132 500

In a life threatening situation call 000

After a storm SES volunteers make temporary repairs to homes that have been badly damaged, such as roofs that have been ripped off or large fallen trees on homes or cars. Please contact your insurance company to organise permanent repairs.

KEEP UP TO DATE:

Visit emergency.wa.gov.au, call 13 DFES (13 3337), follow DFES on Twitter: twitter.com/dfes_wa, Facebook: facebook.com/dfeswa, listen to ABC Local Radio, 6PR, or news bulletins.

During a power outage, your home phone, computer or other electronic devices connected to the NBN will not work. Include a battery powered radio in your emergency kit.

Updates will be provided when the situation changes.