A severe gust tore the roof from a home in Wonthella, Geraldton, at about 4pm on Sunday, 24 May 2020, according to The West Australian. Security-camera footage supplied by a neighbour showed the damage. A second Geraldton home, in Waggrakine, had reportedly lost its roof earlier that day.
What happened in Wonthella
The West Australian reported that footage supplied by neighbour Bayley Olden showed a severe gust damaging the house at 271 Fourth Street, Wonthella, at about 4pm on 24 May 2020. Olden described the squall this way: “A big squall came through and it peeled the roof off like a can of sardines.”
Geraldton SES manager Tom Wilson told the newspaper the home was badly damaged. It was an unoccupied rental, so nobody was inside when the roof came off. The West Australian’s incident report was published on 25 May 2020.
A second roof-loss incident earlier that day
The same report said a home in Waggrakine suffered roof damage at about 11:30am. Debris blocked the street, but Wilson said SES crews cleared the road: “Thankfully we were able to clear the road but the home was badly damaged,” he said. The report described that property as an unoccupied rental as well.
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How the storm was described
The West Australian linked the wider weather event to the remnants of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga colliding with a cold front. In a separate report, Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the city experienced winds of up to 113 km/h over a 24-hour period. That is an attributed statement in the newspaper, not an independently verified wind measurement here. The broader storm report was published on 25 May 2020.
Offshore wave observations were a separate measure
Research buoys also recorded exceptional marine conditions during the storm. The Integrated Marine Observing System said two drifting buoys recorded waves higher than 9 metres in the south and waves above 7 metres in the north for almost a full day; some individual waves may have reached 20 metres. The buoys recorded conditions across about 1,000 km of coastline, with one about 500 km south-west of Cape Leeuwin and the other 350 km north-west of Geraldton.
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- FIRE RETARDANT CONSTRUCTION: Meets NFPA 701 flame-retardant standards for enhanced safety during installation and use on residential and commercial roofing applications.
- HIGH UV RESISTANCE: 80% UV resistance rated to ASTM D7238 standards ensures long-lasting outdoor installation and durability, manufactured with thick 8 mil 1000 denier PE woven fabric.
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These figures describe offshore waves, not wind gusts at the Wonthella house, and do not establish what caused its roof to fail. UWA researcher Dr Jeff Hansen said it was very uncommon for waves of that size to occur simultaneously across such a large area of WA’s coast and persist for a substantial period. The findings were published by IMOS on 2 June 2020 and in a University of Western Australia release on 1 June 2020.
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