Thousands remain without power across New South Wales after severe winds and heavy rain battered the state, with wind gusts up to 130km/h, 13-metre high waves, and several places receiving more than 200mm rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology expected a “second surge” on Wednesday night would bring a further burst of rain and wind to the south coast of NSW and eastern parts of Victoria, with peak gusts of around 90km/h possible along exposed parts of the coast.
“Another 50 to 100mm is quite likely today and tonight,” senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said. “That’s on top of the 100 to 200mm that we’ve already seen, particularly through parts of NSW.”
The NSW State Emergency Service has responded to more than 3,400 incidents since a vigorous coastal low began lashing the state’s east coast, bringing intense rainfall and strong winds.
The majority of incidents involved fallen trees, power lines and damaged roofs, the NSW SES said. Flood rescue crews also responded to numerous incidents related to flash flooding around Shoalhaven overnight Tuesday.
Amid hazardous surf conditions, waves reached maximum heights up to 13m at Port Kembla and Eden, data from the Manly Hydraulic Laboratory shows. Maximum wave heights of 12 metres were recorded at Batemans Bay and 10 metres at Sydney.
Network operator Ausgrid said just after 6pm on Wednesday crews had been working to restore power to more than 35,000 customers but about 3,300 customers remained without electricity.
Residents of Wamberal and North Entrance on the NSW Central Coast were asked to evacuate on Tuesday due to coastal erosion, with warnings ongoing on Wednesday morning for dangerous waves which could significantly damage buildings, and the NSW SES door-knocking those affected.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported widespread falls of 100 to 120mm from southern Sydney to the the south coast in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday.
Significant rainfall totals included Morton, which received 248mm, Ulladulla 224mm, Fitzroy Falls 218mm and Robertson received 212mm, in the 24 hours to 9am.
Wind gusts of 130km/h were recorded at Wattamolla, 122km/h at Montague Island, 104km/h at Penrith and 104km/h at Ulladulla, and 102km/h gusts were recorded at Sydney harbour, according to the bureau.
The hazardous conditions were not over yet, said bureau meteorologist Helen Reid, with numerous warnings still in place on Wednesday.
“There is a severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall, which extends across the NSW coastal fringe from Forster to Bega into the alpine areas of parts of the southern tablelands and the northern tablelands as well.”
Average gale-force wind gusts of 60 to 70km/h were forecast, and the possibility of gusts up to 110km/h. Areas affected included Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Armidale, Batemans Bay, Tenterfield, Moruya Heads and Penrith.
“Winds could bring down trees or tree limbs, lead to dangerous driving conditions due to crosswinds or debris being thrown across the roads, [and] lead to power outages and possible damage to cars and property,” Reid said.
A driver was in critical condition after a tree fell and crushed his truck in Moss Vale in NSW’s southern highlands overnight. NSW police said the 55-year-old driver was unconscious as police officers and emergency service workers extracted him. He was treated for serious injuries to his head and torso before being taken to hospital.
Conditions remained hazardous along the coast, across an area stretching from Seal Rocks to the Victorian border, with the potential for damaging surf, coastal erosion and damage to infrastructure.
A widespread flood watch was still in place for catchments across the Hunter, central coast and tablelands, Illawarra and southern coast, with the expectation of minor to moderate flooding over coming days.
The NSW SES issued emergency flood warnings for residents at Burrill Lake – where about 200 properties were affected by flooding, some over floor level – to take shelter. Sanctuary Point residents were also under an emergency warning to move to higher ground due to flooding.
Watch and act warnings were in place due to flooding for Lake Conjola, Burrill Lake and Lake Tabourie.
The SES state operations centre had received more than 2,390 calls for assistance in the last 24 hours.
More than 2,000 volunteers and emergency service workers were on the ground, the SES said on Wednesday.
“There is a lot of debris on the roads. Trees have fallen. Power lines are down. The roads are also very slippery. There have been multiple car crashes and we’re asking people to please take care on the roads,” the deputy commissioner, Debbie Platz, said.
“I remind everybody that we are not out of the woods yet.”
Transport for NSW advised train passengers to avoid non-essential travel.
Replacement buses were running on parts of the Blue Mountains Line and T1 Western Line due to fallen trees. Buses were also replacing trains on part of the Central Coast and Newcastle lines, due to overhead wiring repairs.
Several flights had already been cancelled on Wednesday, as the severe weather caused delays and schedule changes, with single runway operations expected to continue.
People travelling on Wednesday or Thursday were advised to check their flight status.
“We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and are working hard to re-accommodate impacted guests and ensure they reach their destination as soon as possible,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.
The vigorous coastal low, which was still lingering off the central Illawarra coast, was expected to continue to direct severe weather across eastern NSW for much of Wednesday, before gradually easing on Thursday.
The Bureau of Meteorology also issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds in Queensland, which was also being affected by the low pressure system.
In Queensland, a severe weather warning was in place on Wednesday evening for parts of Wide Bay and Burnett, Darling Downs, the Granite Belt and south-east coast, with damaging winds averaging 60 to 70km/h, and peak gusts about 100km/h likely.
Damaging winds were expected to continue about the Main Range and Scenic Rim, easing Thursday morning.
