Mini tornado rips open roofs of homes and warehouses, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake as a devastating storm ravages NSW’s central coast after a blistering heatwave
- Parts of NSW hit by storm
- Roofs were torn off houses and a warehouse
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The wild weather has battered parts of Australia, with damaging winds blowing the roofs off homes, destroying properties and leaving thousands without power.
About nine homes were damaged about 4pm on Saturday when devastating storms destroyed parts of the entrance and long jetty, on the NSW central coast, with one person trapped under rubble in a house.
The roof of Long Jetty Automotive Engineering, located on the corner of Minto Ave and Central Coast Hwy, was blown completely off the building, causing the force to also bring down some of the walls.
The roof of a neighboring house blew, trapping at least one person for some time.
Gabrielle Woodhouse from the Bureau of Meteorology said there were thunderstorms in the Central Coast region throughout the day.
“This storm in particular was driven by a moist and unstable air mass, bringing that devastation to places like Long Jetty,” she said.
“We’re expecting some showers or another thunderstorm to the west (Sunday), but we’ll at least see some cooler conditions.”
Locals have taken to the Long Jetty Community Facebook page as they assess the damage.
“Looks like there was a tornado,” one user said.
“It was crazy and I thought our windows were going to collapse and part of the fence would have fallen too,” said another.
A roof was blown off a house on the NSW Central Coast on Saturday afternoon after high winds tore the roof off a factory
The weather bureau said the damage was caused by an “intense” and “fast-moving” storm that passed through the area this afternoon.
Trees and power lines collapsed on several roads in the area as the city was hit by flash floods.
A severe weather warning was issued for Greater Sydney and the Illawarra after cool changes occurred around Saturday afternoon
Sydney is expected to be hit by gusts of 70 km/h on Saturday evening, which could increase to 90 km/h later this evening.
There is also a warning for severe thunderstorms threatening large hail and damaging winds for the Hunter, South Coast, Snowy Mountains and Mid-North Coast forecast districts.
The severe weather comes after parts of the NSW coast were hit by 40 degree heat.
Penrith and Richmond in western Sydney reached 43C, while Badgerys Creek, Frobes and Coondobolin were among the NSW Central West to reach 44C.
Total fire bans have also been imposed in five districts across the state, with firefighters battling to control dozens of out-of-control blazes.
Health authorities previously urged concertgoers attending events across Sydney to stay in the shade and keep themselves hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
The damage was caused by an ‘intense’ and ‘fast-moving’ weather system after a cool change swept through the state in the late afternoon
About nine properties on the NSW north coast were severely damaged (pictured) after a cool change brought damaging winds that tore the roofs off several homes in the area
Damaging winds caused flash flooding in areas of the NSW north coast, with Sydney expecting gusts of up to 90km/h later this evening