Six feared dead after super storm’s horror rampage

As many as six people are feared dead after the super storm in which floods ravaged communities destroyed history.

Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. ‘It’s certainly the biggest catastrophe we’ve ever faced’

As many as six people are feared dead after the once-in-40-year super storm in which floods ravaged communities and monster waves topping 8m destroyed coastal history.

Emergency services were overwhelmed by almost 10,000 calls for assistance and nearly 4000 evacuations along the length of NSW since the weekend after the east coast low developed off Queensland into a horror storm that swept through the state before hitting Tasmania yesterday.

Three people were confirmed dead after being trapped in their cars. There are grave fears for a swimmer in Bondi and two elderly residents in Tasmania. Cliff-top homes at Collaroy on Sydney’s northern beaches were wrecked and dozens more were on the brink of sliding into the ocean. Residents described a “mini-tsunami” that claimed part of the coastline.

The Coogee Surf Life Saving Club in Sydney’s east, founded in 1907, partially collapsed after its foundations were battered by 7m-high waves.

Two NSW motorists died in their cars in the NSW Southern Highlands and Leppington in Sydney’s southwest. Rescuers in the ACT looked on helplessly as a 37-year-old man was flipped in his two-tonne ute by powerful waters when he became trapped in his car near Cotter Dam.

“We come with a heavy heart,” NSW Premier Mike Baird said when he inspected the destruction at Collaroy. “It was a storm so ­ferocious, it took life from us.

“All the property damage goes into insignificance.”

Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten offered condolences to the families of those who died in the floods.

The Insurance Council of Australia declared the storms an insurance catastrophe, with damage nearing $40 million so far. Insurers received more than 11,150 claims across two states.

Emergency workers evacuated 3888 people in NSW, from Lismore in the state’s north to Lansvale in Sydney’s southwest.

About 700 people were evacuated in an emergency operation at North Narrabeen after residential roads were inundated by flood­water on Sunday night.

Police divers recovered the body of 65-year-old Robert Pollard in a car in Mittagong Creek near Bowral, more than 18 hours after he was reported missing on Sunday. The body of 70-year-old Ahmed Elomar was found in a ute at Leppington in Sydney.

A search will resume at first light for a swimmer who went missing yesterday afternoon at the southern end of Bondi Beach. The Westpac rescue helicopter was briefly diverted to Cronulla, where a stricken swimmer was pulled out of the surf and required oxygen.

Dangerous conditions hampered the search for an elderly woman missing after her husband was rescued by helicopter from their inundated Latrobe home, near Devonport, yesterday morning. Search and rescue crews scoured Ouse in Tasmania’s central highlands after a man in his 80s was swept away, before the ­effort was suspended at nightfall.

The NSW SES performed 287 rescues in flooded areas and crews are still working on the more than 9700 calls for help they have recorded. “There have been many rescues where people have driven or walked into floods, where it’s fast-moving water,” said spokesman Matt Reeves. “People are ­underestimating the force of the water, and even vehicles can be easily swept away.”

NSW authorities last night warned the danger wasn’t over, despite the rain easing. Authorities remain concerned about a number of swollen rivers, particularly the Nepean and the Hawkesbury.

More than 6000 homes were without power last night.

The NSW government will fast-track applications for emergency funding, including interest-free loans and grants for individuals, small business and community groups of up to $130,000.

Additional reporting: Michael Roddan