Two people have been rescued from a yacht struggling in wild seas off the NSW south coast.

NSW Police said a 60-year-old man and the 48-year-old woman were safely rescued from the stricken Spirit of Mateship early on Tuesday after a major rescue that also involved the Navy vessel HMAS Canberra and an RAAF C-130J Hercules aircraft.

The rescue effort was launched on Monday after officers the 19-metre yacht’s distress beacon was activated while it was about 150 kilometres offshore from Nowra. The vessel is believed to have sustained a mechanical issue and was taking on water.

The rescue operation was suspended overnight due to extreme weather. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said rescuers were battling seas of up to five metres and 70-90km/h winds.

Rescue efforts resumed at first light on Tuesday, with the pair safely taken off the stricken Spirit of Mateship by 7.30am.

“They are currently on board the [NSW Police vessel] Nemesis, travelling to Sydney. It is anticipated the Nemesis will arrive at NSW Police Marine Area Command late tonight,” police said.

AMSA spokesman Ben Flight said conditions were still dangerous on Tuesday.

It’s still around 50-60km/h [winds] and 4-5-metre seas this morning. So, very, very dangerous and trying conditions,” he told the ABC.

“Unfortunately, the vessel had to be abandoned. We understand there was mechanical issues and they were taking on water. We do have their last known position and will monitor that but, unfortunately, it had to be abandoned.”

It came as the extreme weather that has battered three states is expected to ease on Tuesday as the clean-up gets under way. The strong winds left a woman dead, homes destroyed and towns on flood watch.

The wind and rain, which started on Sunday night, led to the death of a 63-year-old woman after a tree struck a cabin at a holiday park in Moama, on the NSW-Victoria border.

As of 5pm, there are 64 fires burning across NSW, with 17 not yet contained. One fire is currently burning at a Watch and Act level, with more than 550 firefighters and incident management personnel working to contain these fires.
📷 Media Response Newcastle – Old Punt Rd Fire pic.twitter.com/V6816htTOw

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) September 2, 2024

Blackouts

More than 120,000 Victorians were without power and 660 homes damaged on Monday following a night of pulsing winds and abnormally high tides.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said that while the worst of the weather had taken place, some damage was still to come.

“We’re expecting the winds to gradually ease from the west … and for all of the wind warnings to be cancelled by late (Monday),” she said.

“However, winds of this strength do have the potential to bring down trees, branches that may cause property damage, that may cause power outages and hazardous driving conditions.”

Some low-lying properties in Tasmania may become isolated by flood waters and property, and livestock could be at risk from flood waters, according to the bureau.

There are evacuation warnings for residents in the Derwent River, Meadowbank to Macquarie Plains and Styx River at Bushy Park to Macquarie Plains and surrounds.

In NSW, a bushfire near Wollongong closed the M1 Princes Highway while a second at Erskine Park in western Sydney closed two lanes on the M4 for several hours on Monday afternoon.

Another blaze was burning in Tomago north of Newcastle, with residents told to prepare their homes, before it was downgraded to watch and act.

A woman in her 50s suffered multiple injuries after being hit by a falling tree in Sydney’s west.

Strong winds of up to 85km/h caused the cancellation of 90 flights to and from Sydney Airport and left just one of its three runways open.

The SES confirmed a home in Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges was destroyed, along with a property in Corio in Geelong’s north, due to wind damage.

-with AAP