Cyclone Barry made landfall between the mouths of the Staaten and Gilbert Rivers, a stretch of coastline that is sparsely inhabited. The eye passed directly over a professional fishermans camp, said to be about 4 metres above high water mark, and it was wrecked by wind and storm surge. A field survey by helicopter indicated the occurrence of a storm surge which travelled up to 7 km inland, after topping the frontal dunes, in an area near and south of the Staatan River mouth. It was assessed as being a storm surge of at least 4 metres.