Devastating storms force flood evacuations, cut power
A record-breaking 16,000 calls were made to 000 in just 48 hours over the weekend - double the amount received on the busiest day during NSW’s recent bushfire crisis. Meanwhile, thousands of properties could remain without power for days as the state begins to mop up from one of our worst storms on record.
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The number of 000 calls received by emergency services following the horror storm which lashed Sydney over the weekend has doubled the worst day of the state’s bushfires.
NSW Fire and Rescue were inundated with calls for help over the weekend after a dreaded east coast low wreaked havoc on the state’s coast.
A record-breaking 16,000 calls were fielded in just 48 hours over the weekend - double the amount received on the busiest day during the bushfires.
NSW Fire and Rescue Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said most calls related to fallen trees and powerlines - but one involved a landslide beneath a property in Bayview.
“The vast majority of calls were in support of the SES dealing with the extreme weather in Sydney and along the coast,” he said.
Some calls related to water in electrical systems and the use of portable electricity generators, Mr Fewtrell said.
While the majority of these calls were life-threatening, some could have been directed to the SES, he said.
Ahead of a forecast thunderstorm this afternoon, Mr Fewtrell reminded the public to only call emergency services if their life was in danger.
Meanwhile, Sydney’s wild storms have been declared the third worst flooding event in history by one of the state’s electricity providers as authorities warn blackouts could last days.
Ausgrid on Monday said the utter scale of devastation from the flooding - which has caused blackouts at 100,000 properties - makes it one of the worst on record.
The news comes as crews struggle to return power to thousands of residents.
Ausgrid spokesman Shawn Fewings said the event comes close to toppling the horror 2007 floods along the Hunter and Central Coast from second place.
“We’ve declared it the third worst in 20 years and it’s threatening to move to number two,” he said.
The east coast low on Sunday tore across the state, toppling trees and powerlines and waterlogging streets.
Suburbs stretching from Sydney’s north, east, south and southwest and up to the Central Coast and Newcastle are without power.
Some customers should expect to be without power for several more days as crews struggle to make areas safe, Mr Fewings said.
“Every available crew member is on the ground. We’re working as hard as we can but it really is Mother Nature at her worst.”
The devastating storms also forced flood evacuations while numerous Sydney train stations were packed with people trying to get to work on limited services Monday morning.
Residents in low-lying areas near the Narrabeen Lagoon in northern Sydney were on Sunday night ordered to evacuate by the NSW State Emergency Service. The SES said people risked being trapped without power and water if they didn’t leave the area.
The southwest Sydney suburbs of Moorebank, Chipping Norton and Milperra were also ordered to evacuate.
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Sydney towns of Richmond and Windsor, the SES said.
Emergency services have been swamped with calls since the deluge set in on Friday, while the extreme weather has caused transport chaos across Sydney.
“This wet and windy weather is really wreaking havoc on our roads today, with paramedics responding to five car accidents every hour since Friday night,” NSW Ambulance spokesman Giles Buchanan said on Sunday afternoon.
“We’ve responded to multiple trees that had fallen onto cars, trees into houses and units, and people trapped in cars in floodwaters.”
NSW Maritime says a number of boats have been sunk by the turbulent conditions at sea.
Four people were hospitalised on Sunday afternoon after a tree fell on their car in the Sydney CBD.
Just after 1:30pm today NSW Ambulance were called to reports of a tree that had fallen on a car in the city. Paramedics treated 4 passengers in the car for neck pain and spinal precautions and transported them to hospital in stable conditions. #nswrain pic.twitter.com/WcgKqg0AOx
— NSW Ambulance (@NSWAmbulance) February 9, 2020
A 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs after he was trapped between debris in waist-deep water for two hours in the Hunter region.
The teen was rescued by emergency services after falling into Allyn River while canoeing at about 9am on Sunday.
Utility company Ausgrid says more than 77,000 customers lost electricity across Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.
Endeavour Energy says a further 26,000 customers were without power in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands regions.
A severe weather warning was issued on Sunday for the entire coast of NSW, and will remain in place on Monday.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the deluge could cause “life-threatening flash flooding” in the Hunter region, the Central Coast, greater Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains.
Sydney, the Central Coast and the Blue Mountains were soaked by between 200 and 400mm of rain from 9am Friday to 5pm Sunday.
The last time Sydney and the state’s coast had as much rainfall was mid-2016. “But we’ve surpassed those figures and you have to go back as far back as 1998 to see totals like we’ll get,” a weather bureau spokeswoman said. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb urged drivers to take caution and avoid floodwaters.
“I’m disappointed that I need to remind people to act responsibly and not to take risks in these types of conditions, especially when around floodwaters,” she said.
Parched dams around Sydney, including the major Warragamba Dam, are swelling to their highest levels in years.
TRAIN NETWORK DELAYS
Earlier today, train travellers were being urged to delay non-essential travel or allow extra time as torrential rain, flooding and felled trees cause chaos on Sydney’s rail network.
Trains are on the Central Coast-Newcastle line were suspended in both directions between Hornsby and Morriset, with Transport NSW scrambling to organise replacement buses.
⚠🌧 Severe weather conditions are affecting infrastructure across the network, inc trees in overhead wiring & blocking tracks, external power issues, signal equipment repairs and flooding
— Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) February 9, 2020
Avoid any non-essential travel and if you must travel, allow plenty of extra travel time. pic.twitter.com/SiSQ1sFuFY
A small number of buses have took passengers north from Hornsby.
The shutdown was triggered by a combination of rain-related issues on the network, including power supply and signal issues at Wyong and Wondabyne stations.
Trains are operating as normal from Morriset to Newcastle.
Travellers on the Blue Mountains line are also being urged to delay travel with a tree stuck in overhead wiring at Blackheath shutting down the line between Katoomba and Mount Victoria.
Transport NSW has provided limited replacement buses and train services from Katoomba to the city but the service is experiencing major delays.
Urgent repairs at Central Station are causing changes in stopping patterns, early terminations and delays across the Sydney rail network.
SYDNEY ON FLOOD WATCH
The SES has attended more than 4000 calls for help since the downpour began on Wednesday, SES Commissioner Carlene York said.
“We are getting a lot of flooding into homes through roof damage and trees coming down,” she said.
She said so far the worst hit areas were the Central Coast and Milperra in Sydney’s southwest, Narrabeen on the northern beaches and areas around the Hawkesbury and Nepean river.
“Some of the streets and conditions when we get to these jobs can be quite dangerous, so we will work with community members in relation to fixing those issues.”
Rivers in Sydney’s west have experienced minor flood levels with residents along the Nepean River at Penrith, Menangle and Wallacia told to take precautions.
The Colo River in Sydney’s northwest has also exceeded its flood levels, with the suburbs of Upper Colo expected to be affected by floodwaters.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb urged people to stay away from waterways because of rough seas, saying four men had to be saved after their boat capsized on the Central Coast.
“Last night we had four men enter a small boat up in the Brisbane Water area at 11:30pm — the boat capsized,” she said.
“Fortunately those people were rescued by good Samaritans nearby, but that was very reckless and unnecessary, and put lives at risk unnecessarily.”
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Police are also looking into footage of a man riding a jetski.
“We are investigating after a video surfaced online yesterday of a man jet skiing in floodwaters on the Central Coast, which is behaviour so reckless I can barely comprehend it,” Assist Comm Webb said.
In a separate incident, a 16-year-old boy who was trapped between debris in waist-deep water after falling into the Allynbrook River about 9am this morning had been rescued by police.
“The teen was in the water for almost two hours before specialist SES officers were able to free him and safely return him to the riverbank. He’s since been taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs.”
The far north coast towns of Byron Bay, Pottsville and Kingscliffe copped almost 300mm of rain while the Mid North Coast received 250mm.
“What we are seeing now is the system intensifying,” she said.
“For the Sydney and the Central Coast area it is really the next 12 hours of most concern and then the focus shifts down towards the south coast of New South Wales … during tonight and tomorrow, we could see similar rainfall rates to what we have seen up north.”
She warned a king tide combined with an average swell of 5m with waves up to 8m could cause coastal erosion similar to that seen at Collaroy on the northern beaches in 2016.
“The coastal erosion is really today and tomorrow, will be the main danger period, because it is really the height of the waves, the power of the waves coming in from the east which erodes the land.”
More than 19,000 homes are without power according to provider Endeavour Energy and there are also a significant number of homes without power on the Ausgrid network.
The rain brought celebrations on the south coast with locals applauding emergency services following news that the massive Currowan Fire has been extinguished after burning for more than 70 days.
“As of 8pm tonight, the Currowan Fire burning in the Shoalhaven has been set to out,” NSW Rural Fire Service announced on Facebook on Saturday night. The blaze burnt for 74 days and across 499,621 hectares, spanning right across the region and spreading to neighbouring councils including Eurobodalla, Wingecarribee and Queanbeyan Palerang.
A total of 312 homes were destroyed and 173 were damaged.
“Tremendous work by firefighters and residents saw 1889 homes saved,” the RFS said.
Locals expressed their thanks to those involved in battling the blaze. Almost a dozen fire trucks took a lap of honour at the Nowra Showground on Saturday night.
But while the rain is welcome, especially for towns that had been surrounded by bushfires, there is little joy for the drought-stricken west of the state.
Some towns will receive storms with reasonable rain — although nothing like what the coast can expect — and some merely isolated showers.
The bureau said that west of the Great Dividing Range the rainfall would be scattered.