‘Once-in-five-year storm’ wreaks havoc on Perth, 70,000 remain without power

Updated June 1, 2026 — 4:19pm,first published June 1, 2026 — 9:48am

More than 34,000 homes across Western Australia remain without power after a ‘once-in-every-five-year’ storm swept through the state’s south at the weekend.

The low-pressure system, which on Monday was tracking south-east, generated rare destructive winds, upending trees, downing power lines and turning roads into rivers.

A cyclone-grade wind gust of 135km/h was recorded at Cape Leeuwin on Sunday afternoon, while Rottnest Island recorded a maximum gust of 102km/h, Mandurah 104km/h, and Jandakot 100km/hr.

On Sunday night, 6 per cent of the state’s electricity grid was disconnected, with 160,000 households losing power at the storm’s peak.

Western Power crews have so far worked their way through 300 of the 500 hazards called in, with those still without power warned to prepare for extended outages.

“The damaging and destructive winds associated with the storm front have thrown debris, including tree branches, into the network damaging equipment and bringing down powerlines,” a spokesman said.

“Our priority is responding to reported hazards to ensure the safety of the community and our crews. Customers may notice a team attend their hazard to make it safe, but power is not restored. This is to ensure the safety of community, our crews, and other agencies.

“We are mobilising additional resources to the impacted areas today to support the patrols, repair, and restoration work.”

The worst hit suburbs include Willetton, Wellard, Rivervale, Wandi, Stirling, Gosnells, Hamilton Hill and Langford.

Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia said the storm was one of the largest seen in recent decades.

“In a typical storm, at this time of year, you might have 100 requests for assistance. We understand there were more than 800 for this event,” he said.

“It’s a big storm, and it had a big impact … we should be very grateful there are [no injuries].”

Papalia said every unit of the State Emergency Service in the metropolitan region was active, with more than 150 volunteers assisting with the cleanup.

The SES has received 840 calls for assistance, with one family finding a neighbour’s shed in their pool on Sunday.

The highest number of calls for help were in the Perth metropolitan area, follow by Peel and the South West region. Most requests related to roof damage, water ingress, fallen trees, structural damage and localised flooding. No injuries have been reported.

A three-storey apartment building in Cottesloe has sustained significant roof damage, which debris airborne, while another buil