Residents are on high alert as the weather system barrels towards the coast with gale-force winds, big waves and dumping rain.
Lives and homes are under threat and some residents have been told it is too late to leave as Cyclone Mitchell tracks south along the Western Australian coast.
The category 2 cyclone was near Exmouth early this morning but is expected to make landfall near Coral Bay at some point today or this evening.
This morning, authorities issued a new shelter-in-place warning for Coral Bay to Minilya Roadhouse and north of Ningaloo.
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"Tropical Cyclone Mitchell is expected to result in abnormally high tides which may include storm surge. Do not enter floodwaters," the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said in a social media post.
Another shelter in place warning is in place for Minilya Roadhouse to north of Wooramel Roadhouse, including Carnarvon.
Residents in these areas have been told it's too dangerous to leave their homes.
At 3am local time, the storm had winds near 100km/hr at its centre and gusts up to 140km/hr, with wild winds battering a large area.
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Those winds and drenching rainfall brought by the storm are battering a swathe of the north-west coast from Exmouth to south of Denham.
"It's not just the wind risks we're concerned about," James Ashley of the Bureau of Meteorology said.
"The system will also bring really heavy rainfall, 100mm to 200mm over 24 hours."
The storm is forecast to weaken once it makes landfall and will lose cyclone status at some point tomorrow, but warnings about severe weather will linger.
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Residents were on high alert as the weather system barrelled towards the coast with gale-force winds, big waves and dumping rain.
"We've had a good morning of preparation and doing those last things that were left to the last minute, but I think that the town's pretty prepared and kind of knows what it's in store for," Exmouth Shire President Matthew Niikkula said.
About 300 homes and businesses were already without power but it wasn't safe for Horizon Energy crews to head out to fix the problem.
Mitchell was downgraded to category 2 yesterday afternoon but still expected to pack a punch.
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Karratha, where about 80 addresses were without power, copped 100km/h and 90 millimetres of rain overnight, while Legendre Island recorded 169km/h and a 148km/h gust hit Barrow Island.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services district officer Todd Pender said despite the damage, Karrath and Gambier were "very fortunate".
Some mine sites in the region were evacuated, along with the Blowholes camp site near Carnarvon.
The North West Coastal Highway was shut off north of Carnarvon to heavy vehicles and holidaymakers this afternoon, cutting off access to a number of towns, including Exmouth Coral Bay and Onslow.
WA Premier Roger Cook said it was "just a question of battening down the hatches and allowing the cyclone to run its course, and then we can see what any damage is that needs to be responded to".
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