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The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
‘Gives everyone a bit more hope': NSW grateful for wild weather reprieve but many face damage worth thousands
After days of torrential rain and damaging winds, a break in the wild weather has provided a much-needed reprieve for residents of New South Wales. A 'vigorous coastal low' wreaked havoc on Australia's east coast this week, drenching catchments, leaving thousands without power, causing flight cancellations and fuelling dangerous ocean swells with waves as high as 13 metres. As the weather eased, State Emergency Service crews – which had responded to more than 4,000 incidents by Thursday – were assessing the damage and helping people recover. 'Our SES volunteers, who are doing a remarkable job, are out actually helping to repair and make safe roofs and windows and also cutting down trees to make properties and roads accessible to everybody,' said the deputy commissioner Debbie Platz. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email About 3,900 customers remained without power at 2pm on Thursday, according to network operators Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy, down from a peak of 37,000 on Wednesday. In Burrill Lake on the NSW south coast, Rian Gough was still waiting for the lights to come back on at her cafe, Rosie Oats, after most of the village lost electricity on Tuesday night. 'There is blue sky and the sun is shining, so it kind of gives everyone a bit more hope,' said Gough, who estimated the outage had cost her thousands of dollars in lost income and produce. 'I'm just literally throwing everything into the bin and taking it up to the tip, and hoping that the power comes on today so I can maybe open tomorrow and sell some coffees,' she said. On Thursday afternoon, Long Jetty Family Takeaway on the Central Coast was also waiting for the power to come back on. At the peak of the storm on Tuesday, strong winds tore off part of the roof and the business lost power. 'We can't do anything until the power is back,' said the co-owner Pauline Ureta. As the cleanup continued, the Environment Protection Authority advised people to avoid contact with waterways affected by heavy rain or flooding, particularly where there were signs of pollution such as discoloured water, unusual smells or debris on the surface. 'These events can wash pollutants such as litter, animal waste, green waste and oils into stormwater drains and then into rivers and beaches,' an EPA spokesperson said. 'Community members are encouraged to follow advice from local councils and the Beachwatch website, particularly during the upcoming school holiday period. These updates may include closures of specific waterways due to health and safety concerns.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Insurers have received fewer than 1,400 claims, according to a spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Australia, who said the weather event was 'thankfully not as severe as it could have been'. For affected residents and businesses starting the cleanup, the council encouraged people to prioritise safety, document any damage and speak to their insurer. 'Where water damage is evident, a qualified electrician should inspect the property before the electricity can be turned back on. It's also important not to drive cars that have received water damage,' the spokesperson said. Dry and mostly sunny conditions were expected for NSW on Friday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, although hazardous surf and the potential for riverine flooding would continue. Boaters were urged to keep off the water over coming days, as dangerous swells, strong winds and debris continued to create hazardous conditions. People travelling on the roads or public transport were still advised to check conditions and allow extra travel time, according to Transport for NSW. Wamberal resident Mark Lamont, from the Save Our Sand community group, said the beach was in remarkably good shape – except for the very south end – after the storm dumped massive amounts of sand. 'It's sunny here this morning at Wamberal, people are walking their dogs, and the beach is buff – just full of sand.'
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Storm-struck communities count costs of 'vigorous' low
Communities along Australia's east coast have been left counting the cost of flooding, fallen trees and other storm damage as the worst of the wild weather system passes. Emergency services responded to thousands of incidents after a "vigorous" east coast low brought heavy rain and strong winds to swathes of NSW. The "complex and rapidly deepening" system will continue bringing rain, storms, wind and elevated seas in coming days, but had moved into the Tasman Sea and away from the mainland on Thursday. The NSW State Emergency Service responded to 478 incidents in the 24 hours to 2.30pm on Thursday, compared with 2500 incidents a day earlier. Deputy commissioner Debbie Platz said many emergency warnings had been downgraded as the focus shifted to cleaning up. "As conditions continue to improve, crews are undertaking damage assessments and helping people back on their feet," she said. The Bureau of Meteorology predicted light showers on the hard-hit south coast on Friday, but hazardous surf conditions remain from the coastal low pressure system. The Insurance Council of Australia said almost 2000 claims had been made as of Thursday, representing a "modest" event after a stretch of major natural disasters that left a billion-dollar damage bill. "Once (people) are home and once they know it's safe to be there, they should contact their insurer and let them know they intend to make a claim - even if they don't know the full extent of the damage," council public affairs manager Matthew Jones said. Residents on Lord Howe Island, in the Tasman Sea east of Port Macquarie, have been warned to prepare for the storm, with waves hitting more than five metres. Sixth-generation resident Anthony Riddle, who runs a gin distillery, said it was part of winter's expected weather. The roof of the police station had already blown off. "The island's quite resilient because you've got a lot of trees and part of the building code on the island here is all the houses have to be built below the tree line," he told AAP. "There's no houses on the foreshore, so we won't have any houses affected by any coastal erosion. It's business as usual." More than 4000 incidents have been logged with the SES since the weather event began on Monday. There have been 12 flood rescues across NSW, with authorities repeating calls to not drive through floodwaters. About 2000 customers across the Endeavour Energy and Ausgrid electricity networks in NSW remained without power on Thursday afternoon. Tens of thousands more had lost power at some point during the wild weather. But the state won't be in the clear yet, with a trough moving through on Sunday. Warragamba Dam, west of Sydney, started spilling late on Wednesday, after a previous spill in May.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
NSW weather: SES says conditions set to ease as rain moves offshore
The NSW State Emergency Service has responded to 1,442 incidents in the past 24 hours but on Thursday morning said conditions produced by a vigorous east coast low were easing. 'The rain has moved offshore, so that is good news,' NSW deputy commissioner, Debbie Platz, said. A majority of those incidents involved fallen trees and power lines, damaged properties and vehicles, and flood-related tasks. Four emergency warnings remained in place where properties have been impacted by coastal erosion, Platz said.
Mercury
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Mercury
NSW weather: More Aussies ordered to prepare to evacuate
Areas near Victoria could be in the firing line as the destructive 'bomb cyclone' continues to batter NSW, as thousands of homes and businesses remain in the dark. Heavy rainfall, flash flooding and damaging winds of up to 125km/h as a result of the coastal low weather system and is set to intensify on Wednesday. Severe weather warnings are in place from as far north as Coffs Harbour to the South Coast. Commuters in affected regions have been urged to 'avoid non-essential travel across the rail network'. NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Debbie Platz said that 'the biggest risk area for us today, as we move forward with the intense rainfall' is on the state's South Coast, particularly around Sussex Inlet, Burrill Lake and Shoalhaven. 'It has been a very wild night … and we are not out of the woods yet,' she told Today. 'Where we're most concerned now is the southern flank of this system, which is really impacting the Illawarra region right down to Bega. We do expect that the rain will intensify, as will the wind gusts. But it doesn't mean that places like Sydney are out of the woods either.' Follow on for live updates Originally published as NSW weather live: More Aussies prepare to evacuate, Major Sydney dam expected to spill
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wild storm cuts power and halts flights in southeast Australia
STORY: :: Long Jetty, Australia :: Wild storm batters Australia's southeast, knocks out power and grounds flights :: July 2, 2025 :: Sydney, Australia :: Wollongong, Australia :: Debbie Platz, Deputy Commissioner, New South Wales State Emergency Services 'It was indeed a very wild night for many people across the east coast of New South Wales. We are very grateful that the communities in these areas heeded our warnings. That has meant that there has not been as much damage to property and impact to lives as what could have been.' :: Wamberal, Australia :: Sanctuary Point, Australia 'But we did see conditions deteriorate overnight. Intense rainfall reached 150 millimetres of rain in some areas." 'As a result, the New South Wales State Emergency Service has issued seven emergency warnings overnight. Approximately 335 properties have been impacted by these emergency warnings.' More than 35,000 properties were without power in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, after the storm overnight, outage data showed. Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia, Australia's biggest airlines, have together cancelled at least 55 domestic flights in and out of Sydney on Wednesday, the airport's website showed. Some international flights have been delayed. Conditions are expected to worsen through Wednesday before the system eases and move into the Tasman Sea, and then track toward New Zealand on Thursday (July 3).
