NW ports recovering from Cyclone Luana
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Posted by Allen Newton
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23 January, 2026
KIMBERLEY ports have been hit with wild weather, but no major damage to infrastructure in the aftermath of Cyclone Luana, which hit the North West on Saturday afternoon.
Early media reports indicate that Broome, Derby, and the Dampier Peninsula have avoided serious infrastructure impacts after the cyclone crossed the coast as a category two system.
On Sunday morning the cyclone was moving south of Derby and had been downgraded to a tropical low.
All Kimberley ports had reopened on Sunday morning. Broome, Derby, Yampi Sound (Koolan and Cockatoo Islands), and Wyndham have re‑opened and resumed normal operations after post‑cyclone safety checks.
However heavy rain, strong winds, and flooding risks remain, but emergency services describe conditions as disruptive rather than destructive.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology on Sunday morning, the cyclone was continuing to weaken as it moved inland in the Western Kimberley.
"The remnant tropical low will continue to move south over inland Western Australia for the next several days, bringing areas of heavy rain to the interior," the BOM report said.
A severe weather warning remained current on Sunday afternoon for the Kimberley and adjacent districts.
Luana made landfall on Saturday afternoon as a category two on the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome.
Port operations in Broome had been on heightened readiness, with potential for escalated cyclone stages as conditions deteriorated.
The new Kimberley Marine Support Base also made preparations for the storm and had redirected all vessels.
Broome and Derby are both still experiencing post‑cyclone weather, with heavy rain, squalls, and lingering flood risks.
Derby remains under multiple BOM flood and severe‑weather watches, while Broome continues to see storms and high humidity.
