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Cyclone Fina Wrecks Remote Berkeley River Lodge After Kimberley Landfall

DFES plans to evacuate two uninjured caretakers once flying conditions improve.

Overview

  • Fina came ashore near the Berkeley River Mouth just before 9:30pm Monday as a category 3 system and weakened inland to category 1 before degrading to a tropical low.
  • Berkeley River Lodge sustained significant damage with three of its 18 villas destroyed, extensive structural impacts, and loss of power and water after the on-site power station was destroyed.
  • Two caretakers who sheltered in an underground shipping container made contact with authorities and are reported safe as evacuation and assessment teams wait for conditions to ease.
  • An emergency warning remained in place from Cambridge Gulf to north of Faraway Bay, with authorities citing destructive gusts, heavy rain, coastal surge and flash-flood risks along the northeast Kimberley.
  • A co-owner said the resort was not insured due to unaffordable premiums, raising recovery challenges even as the operators aim to reopen for the 2026 season.