6.50PM: South Coast services are not to timetable and buses are still supplementing and replacing some trains. Passengers are advised to listen to station announcements and check indicator boards.
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6.20PM: Trains are running again between Waterfall and Thirroul after being suspended earlier due to heavy rain. But services are delayed up to 15 minutes due to signal problems at Otford.
5PM: Trains have been suspended between Thirroul and Waterfall after safety monitors were triggered at Stanwell Park this evening.
Bus companies have been contacted to organise a replacement service, however this may take some time and commuters are advised to delay their trips if possible.
A spokeswoman for the Transport Management Centre said the monitors related to the amount of traction on the rail line, and did not indicate a land slip.
Emergency crews have been kept busy as predicted wild winds reached the Illawarra, downing trees and dropping temperatures below zero this afternoon.
A low pressure system that caused widespread damage in northern Victoria had been making its way up the South Coast since last night, and reached the Illawarra just after 2pm.
Live weather radar:
Wind gusts of 102km/h have been recorded at Kiama and factoring in wind chill, temperatures there dropped as low as -0.1 degrees.
Gusts of 102km/h were also recorded at Bellambi at about 3.30pm as the system moved north.
Traffic is being diverted off Lawrence Hargrave Dr at Austinmer after a winds brought down a power pole near Kennedy Rd about 3.20pm.
There are also power lines down near Railway Ave at Scarborough.
Motorists should avoid the area if possible.
The downed lines have left more than 1000 homes without power, according to Endeavour Energy.
Crews working to restore power are being slowed by the inclement weather.
Trees have also fallen across the road on Lawrence Hargrave Dr between Stanwell Park and Stanwell Tops, and in the southbound lanes of Mt Ousley Rd near the Big Dipper.
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A car sits under a fallen tree in Coniston. Photo: MILI SIMIC/TWITTER
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Bulli Pass was closed briefly at Mt Ousley Rd after a tree fell across the road, and there are reports of trees down along much of the Princes Hwy south of Nowra.
SES spokeswoman Erin Pogmore told Fairfax that they have received 312 calls for assistance so far, most from the Illawarra.
She said 173 of the calls were about trees that were uprooted or had fallen over.
She said the SES's main advice to commuters "while conditions are really bad is to avoid travel where possible".
A cyclist suffered minor injuries when he was hit by a car near Kenny St in Wollongong about 3pm. He was taken to Wollongong Hospital in a stable condition.
There were also power failures in Mittagong and Batemans Bay.
Heavy rain is pounding much of the region, with about 13mm falling in Albion Park in just half an hour.
The Bureau of Meteorology had warned winds of up to 100km/h and flooding in low-lying areas were likely this afternoon, as the weather system tracks north towards the Hunter.
‘‘Very heavy surf and coastal erosion will develop in the south and extend northwards during tuesday, particularly on south-facing beaches,’’ a statement posted this afternoon read.
The Princes Hwy is closed from Timbillica to the Victorian border and the Monaro Hwy is closed from Bombala to the border, with multiple trees and damaged cars blocking the roads.
