Australia Weather News

Cheryl Manurung is grateful she wasn't home on the night a brief but damaging storm tore through her hometown of Marble Bar.

"It peeled off the roof in my lounge, bedroom and half the bathroom," she said.

The storm, just over a week ago, brought winds of up to 115 kilometres an hour to the town, about 1,470 kilometres north of Perth.

It left five houses uninhabitable and caused damage at several other properties.

Friends have stepped in to tarp the roof of her house while Ms Manurung has been staying in temporary accommodation offered by another resident.

The long term fix will take more time.

'It's only things'

"I've been insured right up until last year and then they upped it four times what it was, and I couldn't afford it so I didn't have insurance," Ms Manurung said.

"At the end of days it's only things and things can get rebuilt.

"It will just take a bit longer because there's no insurance, but it'll get done."

The isolated location adds to the cost and wait times.

Most of the workers required to carry out the repairs have to come from Port Hedland about 200km away.

Other times those from Newman, 300km away, or Karratha, a drive taking about four and a half hours, are needed.

In the days after the storm, WA Premier Roger Cook announced those whose homes were destroyed were eligible for a $4,000 payment, and those who had minor damage could apply for a $2,000 payment.

So far no payments have been made.

Wild weather part of life

It was long-term Marble Bar resident Olga Potter who made the call to Ms Manurung, her daughter who was hundreds of kilometres away at the time, to let her know what had happened to the house.

"It's just one of those things that happen," she said.

"We get a lot of willy-willies.

"Quite a few years ago a couple of houses had their roofs taken off."

In December and January heavy rain led to isolated flooding in Marble Bar.

Ms Potter said while weather events like the storm came with the territory of living in regional Australia, it was the worst she had experienced.

"The wind came through and it was just unbelievable," she said.

"I thought it was going to lift up my car, that's how heavy it was."

'Shrinking community'

Baz Harris from the Marble Bar Community Resource Centre said he was concerned about what the loss of the houses would mean for the town.

"A beautiful thing about Marble Bar is there's always employment there for people that want it," he said.

"The problem is where do you stay?"

He said there were fewer houses for people to come to stay in.

"What it does do is it prohibits families from coming," he said.