Wild pictures show impact zone of devastating category five cyclone tearing across Australia: ‘Wiped out’
- Cyclone Ilsa devastated Pardoo Roadhouse
- Owners estimate $4million worth of damage
A popular roadhouse has been left unrecognisable after Cyclone Ilsa tore through Western Australia’s northwest coast.
The Pardoo Roadhouse and tavern in the state’s Pilbara region is now looking at a $4million bill to fix the damage that’ll likely see them out of business for at least a year.
One of the roadhouse’s owners, Kelly Anne Martinez, shared an update to the business’ Facebook page on Friday confirming all staff were safe and well.
‘Pardoo Roadhouse is a family run business, and we are a very close-knit team. This is not just where we work, this is our home and a community for nearby FIFO workers, truckies and of course travellers,’ she wrote.
The Pardoo Roadhouse and tavern in the state’s Pilbara region is now looking at a $4million bill to fix the damage from Cyclone Ilsa
While all staff are safe and well, the roadhouse has been left unrecognisable
‘We are all still a bit shaken and emotional to see the damage from Cyclone Ilsa. She may have wiped us out, but she can’t take away our spirit.
‘We face a massive clean-up with plans to rebuild.’
Ms Martinez said while the business was insured, the team estimated the rebuild will cost upwards of $4million.
The team are in the process of setting up a GoFundMe for those willing to donate to help them get back on their feet.
Photos of the trail of destruction left behind by Cyclone Ilsa late on Thursday night show the roadhouse’s roof completely torn off.
The front of the roadhouse is seen completely ripped apart following Cyclone Ilsa
The roadhouse is a popular stop for travellers and truckies
Boxes of drinks were also knocked to the ground while pieces of ripped apart ceiling were seen strewn across the floor.
One of the glass doors was left shattered while the dining area was covered in pieces of the roof that had fallen through.
The front of the roadhouse was completely blown away but the drinks fridge managed to escape mostly unscathed.
One of the owners, Will Batth, said he was ‘lucky to be alive’, when the cyclone struck late on Thursday night.
The Pardoo Roadhouse was left devastated by the cyclone on Thursday night
One of the glass doors shattered during the severe weather
‘It was four hours of hell,’ he told ABC Radio Perth.
Mr Batth and a colleague managed to flee the roadhouse inside a shipping container, but had to battle the ferocious winds to get inside.
‘We have survived category one and category two storms but this one was next level,’ he said.
‘There’ll be months of cleaning and five or six years of financial burden if we manage to open it up which at the moment we can’t say if it’ll be this year or next year.
‘It feels like we’ve lost a baby.’
The team have been inundated with messages of support with Ms Martinez vowing to respond to each one.
The cyclone hit WA’s north-west coast as a category-five system between De Grey and Pardoo about midnight on Thursday, bringing winds of 213km/h.
Record-breaking wind gusts of nearly 300km/hour were recorded at Bedout Island, offshore of the east Pilbara coast as the cyclone made landfall.
On Friday morning, it was classified as a category-three system and it was expected to maintain cyclone intensity until night as it moved hundreds of kilometres inland towards Telfer and Kunawarritji.
The front of the roadhouse was completely blown away but the drinks fridge managed to escape mostly unscathed
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