Roads turn to rivers as storms slam NSW
Source: Twitter/CyclistAnons
Streets became rivers and cars were washed away — with one even floating into the ocean — after torrential rain slammed parts of the Illawarra and greater Sydney.
Hundreds of millimetres of rain and flash flooding battered the NSW south coast on Thursday, causing dangerous landslides and road closures.
Cars submerged in the Illawarra region. Photo: Mandy Parsons/Facebook
Central regions of NSW, including areas around Dubbo, were also forecast to cop a downpour as the thunderstorm shifted north.
Videos posted to the Illawarra Weather Warnings Facebook page showed cars submerged as floodwaters engulfed streets.
Rain was falling so hard that slopes turned into mini cascading waterfalls.
Bundeena and Mainbar south of Sydney were cut off.
Drivers were confronted by landslides. Photo: NSW RFS (Twitter)
In Stanwell Park, near Wollongong, a car was filmed being washed into the sea on a river of floodwaters.
The State Emergency Service said it responded to more than 1300 calls for assistance across NSW and performed 65 rescues.
It said the Illawarra region was among the hardest hit and there had been 350 incidents and 21 flood rescues in the area.
Source: Twitter/Lostinmer
School evacuated
Edmund Rice College in Wollongong was evacuated after flooding and Towradgi Public School contacted parents about midday asking that children be collected early because of the storm.
Inland, towns including Orange, Mudgee, Bathurst, Dubbo, Wellington and Nyngan were at risk of severe storms.
In November, about 20,000 residents in central-west NSW, primarily in Bathurst, were left without hot water to shower or ovens to cook with for weeks because of floods hitting a crucial gas pipeline.
SES state duty commander Colin Malone said it was important for people to remain up-to-date with warnings and monitor conditions before driving.
The flash flooding caught this driver at in Stanwell Park, north of Wollongong. Photo: AAP
Cyclone Gabrielle intensifies
Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to strengthen to category three as it barrels toward Norfolk Island, in line to pummel New Zealand’s North Island.
The system is predicted to intensify to category three on Friday morning, picking up speed and strength with winds of between 165km/h and 224km/h, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
The system’s trajectory has shifted and is in line to make landfall on Norfolk Island late on Saturday or early Sunday.
Norfolk residents are bracing for gusts of up to 140km/h, heavy rain and abnormally high tides and large waves.
“Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to intensify and move onto a track towards the southeast with increasing speed in the next day or two. This is very likely to bring the cyclone near or over Norfolk Island during Saturday and Sunday,” a BOM alert says.
Cyclone Gabrielle off the coast of Queensland. Photo: AAP (BOM)
The storm is expected to continue to track southeast out of the tropics at the weekend, and is predicted to reach New Zealand between Sunday and Tuesday.
“No official warnings are yet locked in this far in advance, the data this morning means the likelihood of severe weather across much of the North Island looks highly likely,” WeatherWatch.co.nz said on Thursday.
“If this current modelling comes true, this will likely be the most serious storm to impact New Zealand this century, especially with Auckland being in the mix for a potential direct hit.”
Heavy rain and gale-force winds are also expected to lash the upper South Island.
The cyclonic threats come less than two weeks after Auckland was hit by historic levels of rain, which killed four people and caused widespread flooding and landslides.
