A woman has been killed by a falling tree near Wollongong in NSW as wild weather batters Australia’s east coast, triggering flash-flood warnings and beach closures.
Emergency services were called to the Illawarra Highway at Macquarie Pass on Saturday afternoon after a tree branch struck a vehicle.
The female driver died at the scene, while a male front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries. Two rear-seat passengers were unhurt.
The death came as dangerous thunderstorms and heavy rain swept across NSW, with flash-flood warnings in place and beaches closed north and south of Sydney.
Ettalong on the Central Coast was hit hard by a torrential downpour, with 93.5mm of rain falling in just one hour. Nearby Pearl Beach also experienced intense rainfall, recording 133mm over a two-hour period earlier that day.
Gosford recorded 56.6mm of rain in one hour; 66mm fell at Bensville; and 71mm of rainfall was recorded at Koolewong.
More than 800 people have called the SES for help since the severe weather began, with the majority of requests from metropolitan areas.
NSW SES spokeswoman Emily Barton said the rain had been experienced “far and wide” across the state.
“We’ve got volunteers out responding as we speak to flood rescues and there’s several incidents of leaking roofs and trees down,” she said.
Another soggy day is on the cards for millions along Australia’s east coast, although the wild weather is expected to weaken.
Edward Townsend-Medlock, a senior meteorologist, warned that heavy rains were anticipated to continue from Sydney’s northern suburbs stretching up to the Hunter Coast on Sunday morning.
“Within that concentrated area is where you could get some of those more severe thunderstorm cells that we saw, for example, on the Central Coast,” he told the Australian Associated Press.
The trough is expected to weaken by Sunday afternoon as it moves offshore.
“The weather will stay wet and cloudy, but there is no threat of severe thunderstorms,” he assured.
Authorities reported that numerous vehicles remain stranded, estimating that between 10 and 20 cars have been lost to the surf.
Queensland also copped a bout of wild weather as a band of thunderstorms rolled across the southeast, dumping up to 60mm and leaving about 11,000 properties with power.
In Victoria, sunny skies are expected, but clean-up efforts continue after torrential rain quickly overfilled the Wye, Kennett and Cumberland rivers in holiday hotspots along the Great Ocean Road.
The extreme event carried huge amounts of water downstream, swamping campgrounds and upending vehicles.
Flash flooding also swept several cars onto a beach at Wye River in Victoria.
Several cars were washed onto a beach by flash-flooding at Wye River in Victoria. Source: AAP / Michael Currie
More than 178mm fell in the area in six hours, with the Lorne station registering its highest 24-hour rainfall total since records began in 1884.
Disaster assistance has been announced for flood-affected communities, with funding provided to councils for emergency relief centres.
