The storm system hammered the coastal town of Exmouth in Western Australia's northwest before heading south, filling the Gascoyne River but also damaging crops at Carnarvon.
Buildings across the region had suffered storm damage and it was expected the region's mainly dirt-road system had taken a hammering, Upper Gascoyne Shire President Jim Caunt told AAP.
Cattle stations in the shire's west got around 100mm of welcome rain but the eastern end received zero, while also copping strong winds and big dust storms.
"It's been an absolutely horrendous summer out there the last couple of years," he said.
"It's about as tough as I've seen it for man, beast and country.
"So everybody who got the rain are over the moon and those that didn't get the rain are wondering what the bloody hell they've done wrong."
Damage assessments are yet to be made on the shire's dirt-road system, which would need emergency patching in coming weeks to allow the transport of cattle to market, Mr Caunt said.
Getting the roads back into reasonable shape would take much longer.
The Upper Gascoyne Shire issued an alert on Tuesday warning motorists the area was not a detour following a string of rescues.
"Please stop destroying our dirt roads only to turn back when you reach river crossings - we have closed the roads for a reason!" the alert posted on Facebook said.
"Travelling through the Upper Gascoyne is not a detour north or south. The roads are closed because river levels are impassable."
Helicopter crews over the weekend reportedly rescued 20 people and a dog from 15 cars stranded on the North West Coastal Highway linking Carnarvon and Exmouth.
The Gascoyne River at Carnarvon had impacted a few properties but largely stayed within its flood channels, Mr Caunt said.
The evacuation centre in Carnavon has closed as minor flooding of the Gascoyne River eases at Nine Mile Bridge as well as along the Lyons River.
The food-bowl region near Carnarvon, about 900km north of Perth, is counting the cost after being hit by Narelle, with WA Premier Roger Cook set to visit the town on Tuesday.
Carnarvon fruit and vegetable growers are reporting widespread losses, including damage to banana and mango crops due to high winds and flooding.
Further north, Exmouth was hard hit by Narelle, which crossed the WA coast on Friday as a category four system, unleashing 250km/h winds.
Roofs were torn off, homes were flooded, and widespread power outages triggered.
Tourists were evacuated from Exmouth and flown out from Karratha on Monday, as the remote town tried to rebuild.
The storm also devastated the nearby World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef with pictures emerging of marine life, including dolphins, washed up on nearby beaches.
Narelle is only the third storm in recorded history to make landfall as a cyclone in three jurisdictions in Australia, joining Ingrid (2005) and Steve (2000).
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