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‘Sea of white’ as giant hail, flash flooding hit NSW North Coast

A freak storm has swept the NSW North Coast, bringing with it giant hailstones, flash flooding and damaging local businesses and homes.

Natalie BrownNatalie Brown
@natalieisbrown
2 min read
October 20, 2021 - 8:11PM
Massive storm hits Coffs Harbour and Toormina Shopping Centre

A freak weather event has swept the NSW North Coast this afternoon, bringing with it giant hailstones, flash flooding and damaging local businesses and homes.

A severe thunderstorm warning is currently in place for Coffs Harbour (and the Northern Rivers) where homes and buildings have been flooded. At least 400 people were evacuated from Toormina Gardens Shopping Centre this afternoon after the Lowes’ roof collapsed under the weight of the water.

Wholesale nursery owner and North Boambee resident Jane Jones, who was caught in the middle of the storm, told the ABC that Toormina had been “absolutely annihilated” by the storm, adding that “there were cars underwater there”.

“It was huge – it was just like big boulders of hail, cars were going everywhere, it was crazy,” she said.

“The hail was so thick on the road cars were actually sliding … it was like you were at the snow and needed snow chains. I’ve been through a cyclone and it looked just like that … there is debris everywhere.”

Ms Jones said it would take a few months to recover at the nursery, having lost “several thousand dollars’ worth of stock [that] we won’t be able to sell because of the damage that has been done to it”.

Hail measuring up to five centimetres has been recorded, while residents in the area have been warned to expect further “damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding”.

Coffs Harbour Golf Club general manager Paul McAra said in his 10 years on the job, he’d never “seen anything like it”.

“It was just a sea of white. At the clubhouse all the gutters filled up with ice and the water started filling back into the clubhouse. When you looked out on the course you couldn’t see a blade of grass – it was just completely covered in white,” he told the ABC.

NSW Fire and Rescue have assembled a strike team and are sending “all resources” from Sawtell and Coffs Harbour to help.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has so far responded to over 280 requests for assistance, many of which are deemed “life-threatening”, and urged residents to keep an eye on the weather warnings and “stay indoors”.

“The resources are now being organised to be deployed into Coffs Harbour to respond to those calls for assistance,” SES deputy zone commander Tony Day said.

“Police have set up a forward command point at the Toormina Shopping Centre, where there’s been a roof collapse, and we’re beginning to assess the level of damage and prioritise our response to all the calls for assistance.

“It’s early days at this stage – many people may still be at work and need to return home and assess the damage, so we’re still prioritising jobs, triaging the calls for assistance and assessing the size and scale of the response operation.”

So far both Toormina High School and Bishop Druitt College will be closed tomorrow, and police have advised residents to avoid travel into the area.

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Originally published as ‘Sea of white’ as giant hail, flash flooding hit NSW North Coast

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/sea-of-white-as-giant-hail-flash-flooding-hit-nsw-north-coast/news-story/0bcfcf60c29f3c7a1ff927f100f9bcfb