I turned them off before the recent inclement weather as advised by our local council.
I meant to do it last week, but I kept forgetting.
I turned the DC and the AC back on in the reverse of the order suggested for turning them off.
I watched the panels from across the road for a bit, to watch for anything obviously amiss. (I assume sparks, smoke and fire to be the obvious problems to watch for). We didn’t and up getting hit by the terrible weather event, so I wasn’t too worried.
The panels seemed to come up ok.
If cyclone winds lift the panels and damage them, when the sun comes out it can increase the chances of a fire, or some such.
That’s not how solar panels work.
If they are damaged, they either work just fine or don’t work at all. Most panels are made up of 3 circuits separated by diodes. Each of these 3 circuits has 24 cells. If any of the cells in the circuit are damaged, it will disable that circuit if the cell (or connections between the cells) has gone open. This will reduce output, but will not effect anything at all and will continu to work safely. Often this happens due to a crack, which will cause water to get into the panel and damage it further. So replacement is recommended, but not like an emergency or something that needs to happen right away. It will not cause a fire, and a lot of people don’t even notice till the next clean.
In case all 3 circuits are damaged, the entire string will stop working, since no current can flow at that point.
Solar panels are also usually weighted down or tied down sufficiently, they will not move even in strong winds. In the case they do move around, they will not be damaged. Solar panels can handle a lot of shit and not break. They need to be transported and are normally manually installed.
There is zero reason to disconnect solar panels in case of bad weather. I don’t know why your council advises people to do so, but they are probably misinformed.