Communities in the path of a devastating cyclone are counting their lucky stars after emerging largely unscathed.
But rising floodwaters triggered by the cyclone's heavy rainfall are expected to pose a danger in northwest Australia in the coming days.
Western Australia's Premier Roger Cook said ex-tropical cyclone Zelia could have been much worse but urged residents to stay alert after record rainfall.
The cyclone was downgraded to category four when it crossed the coast east of Port Hedland on Friday, with debris strewn across the town, roads damaged but infrastructure spared.
Business owner Des said the town was lucky to have avoided the cyclone's 290km/h winds after it made a sudden turn and picked up speed while losing intensity.
"We were expecting the worst, and we got away scot-free other than a few fallen trees and a lot of water," he told AAP.
His furniture store stood largely unscathed apart from minor water damage from the intense rain.
Mr Cook said two Indigenous communities still faced significant risks around floodwaters, with 15 people airlifted from Warralong.
"We're not quite out of the woods yet," he told reporters in Perth.
"This system has dumped an enormous amount of rain on the Pilbara and will lead to ongoing flooding in the coming days."
The DeGrey and Carlindie pastoral homesteads suffered significant damage with reports roofs were stripped and livestock lost, Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said.
A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall has been issued for the Pilbara, Gascoyne, North Interior and South Interior districts, with the DeGrey River expected to reach flood peaks not seen in more than a decade on Saturday.
The weather bureau is warning river level rises and flooding could affect road conditions.
"Some roads may become impassable and communities may become isolated," it said.
Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm urged the community to stay alert as conditions remained dangerous.
"The major flooding isn't expected to subside until next week," he said.
There were 60 calls for assistance around the Port Hedland area after the cyclone hit, but one of the world's busiest iron ore loading ports was spared and has reopened following safety inspections.
The Australian Defence Force will assist with the recovery after the wild weather closed roads, schools, shops and ports, with about 200 people fleeing to evacuation centres.
Work is under way to ensure surrounding communities have enough food in the coming days after major roads were impacted by flooding, with the government holding talks with major supermarkets.
The strongest parts of the system hit remote areas, according to Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines.
A record 500mm of rain fell in just three days in parts of the Pilbara, with 278mm recorded at Upper North Pole in 18 hours.
The small town of Telfer, about 400km south of Broome, copped 93mm in one hour.
Former Port Hedland mayor and councillor Camilo Blanco feared the cyclone would wreck the town and was relieved the worst of it struck about 60km away.
"We've got away with a lot. We've dodged a bullet on this one for sure," he told AAP.
He said it could take weeks to recover, with an enormous amount of work ahead of the community, and urged authorities to provide extra resources.
