The recent storms that swept across the east coast of Australia have caused widespread damage, leaving homes without power and businesses severely impacted.
Volunteers from the State Emergency Service (SES) responded to 278 calls for help between Sunday night and Monday morning, with a significant portion of the calls coming from metropolitan Sydney and central parts of New South Wales.
One of the hardest-hit areas was the small town of Carinda, located in the northern region of the state.
The town’s pub, pizza shop, and general store were all damaged, while several homes were left without power due to fallen power poles caused by high winds.
Walgett Shire’s mayor, Jasen Ramien, described Carinda as being “in a fair mess,” with extensive damage to multiple buildings throughout the town.
The storm also brought lightning and strong winds, which ignited fires in the region before the heavy rain arrived.
Sydney Harbour Bridge chaos: cars damaged after a steel road plate was dislodged during the storm.The storm also impacted Sydney Harbour Bridge, where several cars were damaged when a steel road plate was dislodged.
Transport for NSW’s secretary, Josh Murray, issued an apology to motorists and promised compensation for those whose vehicles were damaged.
In addition to Sydney, areas like Bathurst, Mudgee, and Dubbo experienced heavy rain and wind, prompting emergency response efforts.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported rainfall amounts of 20mm to 40mm overnight, with some areas receiving as much as 50mm.
Fortunately, conditions are expected to ease in the coming days, although power outages are still affecting some parts of the state.
The severe weather in New South Wales comes on the heels of last month’s devastating storm in Broken Hill, where 20,000 residents were left without power for nearly a week after storms downed transmission towers.
The state government had to step in to compensate businesses and residents, and investigations are ongoing into the failures by network operator Transgrid