Flash floods and landslide as wild weather hits city
While hundreds of residents across Sydney called emergency services for help due to severe weather conditions, the northern beaches were affected by life-threatening floods and landslides.
A woman was killed by a falling tree branch near Wollongong on Saturday afternoon and more than 20 people were rescued from cars stuck on flooded roads as storms hit the NSW coast on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
The situation around Narrabeen Lagoon escalated rapidly on Saturday night as rising waters affected homes and the State Emergency Service (SES) issued an alert at 10.41pm.
Residents were evacuated to higher ground with the help of Rural Fire Service volunteers and an evacuation center was set up at Mona Vale Memorial Hall.
The SES said the landslide affected three water-only properties at Great Mackerel Beach in Pittwater.
The woman died after her car was struck by a fallen tree branch at Macquarie Pass, south of Wollongong, just before 4pm on Saturday.
Police said the woman was driving the car. One person sitting in the front seat was slightly injured. The two people sitting in the back seats were not injured.
“NSW SES crews and our emergency services partners were extremely busy helping residents last night as we experienced very high rainfall and dangerous flash flooding,” SES State Officer Commanding Sonya Oyston said.
“There have been numerous flash floods causing road closures and we anticipate some may remain closed for some time.
“We ask the public to be patient and make safe, sensible decisions to never drive on flooded roads.”
The SES responded to 1,400 incidents across the state in the last 24 hours, including 743 calls for help in Sydney.
Heavy localized rainstorms continued to affect parts of Sydney at 6am.
More than 20 beaches have been closed as warnings continue about dangerous surf on beaches stretching from Newcastle to Batemans Bay and Eden.
A slow-moving, dangerous storm caused flash flooding in Mona Vale and Palm Beach on Sydney’s northern beaches, and Avalon recorded 62.5mm of rainfall by 2.13pm on Saturday. Ettalong on the Central Coast experienced 93.5mm of rainfall by 2.22pm.
Flights at Sydney Airport have been delayed due to heavy rain and the grounding of a plane requiring priority landing.
“Although the number of air traffic controllers set for this afternoon is slightly below the designated number of air traffic controllers, we do not expect any significant delays or cancellations due to our staffing,” an Air Services Australia spokesman said.
The harsh weather is expected to weaken later today.
Senior meteorologist Edward Townsend-Medlock said further heavy rainfall was expected from Sydney’s northern suburbs to the Hunter Coast on Sunday morning.
“This concentrated area is where you can find some of the more severe storm cells that we see on the Central Coast, for example,” he told AAP.
The trough is expected to weaken as it moves offshore on Sunday afternoon.
“The weather will remain wet and it will be cloudy. However, there is no risk of severe storms.”
from AAP
