Sydney’s worst hailstorm in 20 years declared a ‘catastrophe’
Sydney is counting the cost of last night’s “catastrophic” hailstorm - the worst in 20 years - which caused damage estimated at $125 million with 25,000 insurance claims lodged by 6am. O’Brien Glass has sent a text message today, which said more than 2500 claims had been lodged and it was unable to attend to people immediately.
NSW
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The one-in-20-year storm that swept through Sydney and parts of NSW has left a $125 million insurance bill and residents of the worst-hit areas facing Christmas under tarps with leaking roofs.
Battered Berowra Heights in Sydney’s far north looked like a war zone after it bore the brunt of the “catastrophic” hail storm.
The SES received 700 calls for help in Berowra Heights and Hornsby and while crews worked through the night and all day installing stop gap measures in the way of tarps, most tradies have downed tools for Christmas so permanent repairs will have to wait.
Clare O’Brien cowered in fear with her dog Sam at her home in Berowra Heights as hail smashed through a skylight.
Her car has been written off by insurers after it was dented all over by the massive hailstones which hurtled down for 20 minutes.
“There was no warning, we ran inside and the skylight smashed and then it started hailing inside. We moved as much as we could and took shelter for 20 minutes,” Ms O’Brien said.
“We were in the pool the seconds before it happened and then we heard it was a massive crack and we thought it was the roof going from hot to cold but then it just bucketed down with hail.
“There was no safe way of coming outside to move the cars, and hundreds of hail stones hit my car.”
The Insurance Council of Australia labelled it a “catastrophe” with more than 25,000 claims been lodged by lunchtime with losses upwards of $125 million and growing.
Most claims coming from Hornsby, Liverpool, Gosford, Waverly, Tamworth and Lithgow.
ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller said about three-quarters of the claims were for damaged cars with smashed windscreens and dented panels.
Many homes and businesses also sustained damage to roofs, awnings and solar panels, with overflowing gutters causing interior damage to some properties.
“Hail storms are intense,” he said.
“They don’t last long, but in a short time they can cause catastrophic damage.”
He said it was the latest in a string of horror hail storms to hit Sydney in recent years including February last year and Anzac Day in 2005.
Thursday’s storm was being likened to the “apocalyptic” 1999 storm which was the country’s worst- ever recorded.
O’Brien Glass sent text messages to customers today claiming more than 2500 people had contacted the company since 5pm .
“Over 2500 people have made contact with us for support with damage resulting from the storms across NSW. We are currently working through this backlog however this may take a few days (we will be working over the weekend),” the text read.
“Please trust that we have your request and are working through our customers, requests prioritising the oldest waiting customers first.
“Please do not recontact us as this may cancel your first request further delaying contact and result in a later booking date. If things change we will SMS you. We understand that this is important and we are doing everything we can to help.”
SES Assistant Commissioner Scott Hanckel said crews were facing a “massive cleanup” involving more than 500 volunteers supported by other emergency services.
“We had over 3000 calls at the height of it last night and I want to thank everyone’s patience for getting through that critical time,” he told Channel 9.
“We’ve got about 1400 jobs to cleanup across the state today and it’s in a very wide area that were hard hit (from) Berowra Heights, Hornsby, Liverpool, but also in the Central Coast and out to Tamworth, across to Lithgow and Wellington – they have all been hit by a line of very severe storms.
“It was some of the worst I’ve seen in my 20 years … (we’re going into) yet another weekend of cleanup. We just finished on the back of the previous storms – at around 4pm we were close to finishing those jobs when these hit – so it’s been a very intense period of time for our volunteers.”
Angry passengers were held up at Sydney Airport with dozens of flights cancelled or delayed as a flow-on effect.
Who said Sydney can't have a white Christmas? â„🌨 #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/ayHHXQ05Jf
— Mark Stewart (@Markstewart__) December 20, 2018
SES Assistant Commissioner Scott Hanckel said crews faced a “massive clean-up” involving more than 500 volunteers supported by other emergency services.
“It was some of the worst I’ve seen in my 20 years,” he told Channel 9.
“(We’re going into) yet another weekend of clean-up. We just finished on the back of the previous storms – at around 4pm we were close to finishing those jobs when these hit – so it’s been a very intense period of time for our volunteers.”
Hailstones nearly the size of oranges here in Surry Hills #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/fZ9daketAR
— JZ Ting 🖋ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ (@ting_jz) December 20, 2018
Surfers hiding under their boards to avoid being knocked out by huge hail at Bondi Beach today ! RT at will... #surfing #Ozesurfer #SydneyStorm #Sydneystorms #Australia #Surfers #Hailstone pic.twitter.com/eTwQOH8mGL
— Ozesurfer (@Ozesurfer) December 20, 2018
WHAT TO DO IF CAR WAS DAMAGED
Will my hail damaged car be written off?
If your vehicle is severely damaged by hailand comprehensively insured, your insurance company may decide that the cost of repairing the vehicle is more than the vehicle is worth. Check with your insurance company for better advice.
How much does it cost to fix minor hail damage?
The cost of hail damage repairs varies from one auto body shop to another. Some claim that small dents can be removed for $30-$45. Medium sized dents cost$40-$55 per repair, and large dents are far more expensive to remove at $75-$80 per repair.
Does my insurance cover hail damage?
First, the car could not be repaired using paintless dent repair. ... The fact that you are now looking at a hail damaged car that was not fixed should give you serious pause. It still has damage for one of the three reasons listed above. Dents can be fixed by paintless up to a certain point of damage.
How long do you have to report hail damage?
The good news is this: most insurance companies allow you up to twelve monthsto file a claim on hail damage. However, you don’t want to wait that long! Hail damage can wreack havoc on your roof and home.