The State Emergency Service received 460 calls for assistance from the Illawarra and South Coast between Monday and Wednesday, as wild storms rolled up the coast, battering homes and businesses.
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SES crews were pushed to the limit in driving rain and howling wind, responding to 150 jobs in Wollongong, 60 in Shellharbour, 30 in Kiama and 70 in Ulladulla.
The storms barrelled up from the south, causing heavy flooding on the South Coast, then hit the southern Illawarra before unloading on Wollongong late Tuesday afternoon.
SES media officer Andrew McCullough said four Illawarra teams were called to assist in southern Sydney late in the night as the storms rolled north, with almost 60 flood rescues executed in Sydney and the Illawarra.
“We had teams in the field until the early hours of [Wednesday] morning. Some teams didn’t go home until after 4am,” Mr McCullough said.
“Our crews assisted in Sydney, helping people who had got stuck driving through floodwaters.”
In the Illawarra, a Kiama house had its verandah ripped off by huge winds, and a Warrawong man was taken to hospital after being struck by a falling tree.
Operating rooms and an administration area at Wollongong Hospital were affected by leaks, while the South Coast rail line was partially closed between Wollongong and Port Kembla when the track was flooded at Port Kembla.
Fallen trees and flooding closed many roads on Tuesday night.
Angus Claussen, owner of Claussen’s Menswear on Burelli Street, Wollongong, said he might have lost up to $15,000 in stock after backed-up gutters flooded his shop.
“Water came down, damaging the walls and stock,” he said.
“I’ve been with the shop for 25 years, this is the worst the shop has flooded.”
Many other businesses, including the Grand Hotel and Myer, were also left mopping up on Wednesday morning.
Gales, rain hit the Illawarra
It wasn't a cyclone but it sure felt like it for hundreds of households across the Illawarra on Tuesday night as wild winds and heavy rain buffeted the region.
Wind gusts reached 91km/h at Kiama and 89km/h at Bellambi just after midnight, felling trees and causing damage to several homes.
The region also copped a drenching with 82 millimetres of rain at Port Kembla and 88 millimetres at Balgownie falling in just 24 hours.
Cringila, Albion Park and Figtree registered more than 50 millimetres.
Many residents woke to a taste of winter on Wednesday morning with temperatures dropping to just 10 degrees in Albion Park and Port Kembla.
The cool weather continued well into the day, forcing residents to ditch their newly bought shorts, in favour of scarves and jumpers to beat the chill.
Temperatures failed to rise past 13 degrees in many Illawarra suburbs while Bowral and Moss Vale shivered through single digits.
A severe weather warning, issued on Tuesday, remained in place on Wednesday morning for damaging winds and heavy surf.
It was downgraded later in the day as winds eased.
The weather is set to improve on Thursday with a mostly sunny day predicted.
The mercury is forecast to reach 20 degrees and there is a slight chance of a shower.
But don’t pack your brolly away too soon – showers are set to return on Friday.
