2 hours ago
1
The northern beaches have been hit by life-threatening flash floods and a landslide as hundreds of residents across Sydney called emergency services for help due to severe weather.
A woman was killed by a falling tree branch near Wollongong on Saturday afternoon and over 20 people were rescued from cars caught on flooded roads as thunderstorms hit coastal NSW on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Wild surf conditions at Cronulla on Saturday.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
The situation around Narrabeen Lagoon escalated rapidly on Saturday night as rising waters affected houses and the State Emergency Service (SES) issued a warning at 10.41pm.
Residents were evacuated to higher ground with the help of Rural Fire Service volunteers and an evacuation centre has been set up at Mona Vale Memorial Hall.
A landslide affected three properties at Great Mackerel Beach on Pittwater, which is accessible only by water, the SES said.
The woman died when her car was struck by a falling tree branch on Macquarie Pass, south of Wollongong, just before 4pm on Saturday.
Police said the woman was driving. A man in the front seat suffered minor injuries. Two people in the rear seats were not injured.
“NSW SES crews and our emergency service partners were exceptionally busy last night assisting residents as we saw very high rainfall and dangerous flash flooding,” said SES State Duty Commander Sonya Oyston.
Loading
“There has been a lot of flash flooding which has closed roads, and we anticipate some may remain closed for some time.
“We’re asking the community to remain patient, and make safe, sensible decisions to never drive into flooded roads.”
The SES has responded to 1400 incidents around the state in the past 24 hours, including 743 calls for help in Sydney.
Intense local rainstorms continued to lash parts of Sydney at 6am.
Warnings remain in place for hazardous surf on the coast at beaches stretching from Newcastle to Batemans Bay and Eden, and more than 20 beaches are closed.
A slow-moving, dangerous thunderstorm caused flash flooding in Mona Vale and Palm Beach, on Sydney’s northern beaches, as 62.5mm of rainfall was recorded at Avalon in the hour to 2.13 pm on Saturday. Ettalong on the Central Coast had 93.5mm of rainfall in the hour to 2.22 pm.
Flights were delayed at Sydney Airport due to heavy rain and a ground stop for an aircraft that needed a priority landing.
“While slightly below rostered air traffic controller numbers this afternoon, we don’t anticipate significant delay or cancellations due to our staffing,” an Air Services Australia spokeswoman said.
The wild weather is expected to weaken later today.
Senior meteorologist Edward Townsend-Medlock said more heavy rainfall was expected from Sydney’s northern suburbs through to the Hunter Coast on Sunday morning.
“Within that concentrated area is where you could get some of those more severe thunderstorm cells that we saw, for example, on the Central Coast,” he told AAP.
The trough is expected to weaken by Sunday afternoon as it moves offshore.
“It remains wet and it’s going to be cloudy. But there’s no risk of those severe thunderstorms.”
with AAP
Most Viewed in National
Loading
