The State Emergency Service was kept busy working hard overnight with more than 1000 requests for assistance across NSW, half of those coming from the Illawarra and South Coast, after a severe storm hit.
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Volunteers responded to nearly 600 calls for assistance in the South Eastern Zone from around 5pm Tuesday to 9.45am Wednesday, with the Shellharbour City unit the busiest with 271 requests for help. There were more than 50 calls for help in Kiama and more than 30 in Wollongong.
There were still 229 jobs outstanding for the SES on Wednesday morning, with Shellharbour City Incident Commander Richard Hart asking people to be patient as crews work throughout the day with the help of the Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW.
"The biggest areas of concern are around Albion Park which received the burnt of the storm," Inspector Hart said.
"There were a couple of houses in Albion Park and Shell Cove that lost their roofs completely and from there there has also been some structural damage to houses in and around the same area from the winds."
A motorist driving along a remote section of Jamberoo Mountain Road had to be rescued from their vehicle after they drove into a tree, becoming "stuck between numerous other fallen trees", the RFS Illawarra said.
"Due to the remote area, the only communications our control centre had with the driver was SMS," they said.
"Crews on the ground and in our control centre co-ordinated the task, resulting in the driver being walked out to safety and transported to family."
Peak wind gusts of 130km/h were recorded at 7.14pm Tuesday in Kiama and 120km/h at 6.58pm in Wollongong with severe winds and surf expected to continue into Wednesday before some slight reprieve.
"Later this afternoon we will be looking at what sort of resources we might need for the coming days because we have a bit of a low in the weather today but we are expecting the weather to not be in our favour in the next couple of days," Inspector Hart said.
Bass Point Reserve was closed to the public on Wednesday so Shellharbour City Council crews could remove fallen trees and make the roads safe.
At least residents in the most affected area could see the funny side of the situation with reports on social media of a "Dr Who's Tardis" being blown down Nattai Crescent in Albion Park which later turned out to be a portaloo, sightings of a man bolting down the street in his undies chasing a spa cover at 3.15am, and a call-out for the owner of a shed roof which rudely gatecrashed someone's backyard.
On Wednesday morning, a FRNSW spokesman said they were sending 34 of their firefighters to the main destruction zone around Albion Park to assist the SES in the cleanup.
Overnight two other FRNSW strike teams of 34 personnel - some from Redfern and Leichhardt - were sent to Flinders to assist with damaged roofs and a runaway trampoline seen "flying down a street".
Wild weather will continue on Wednesday with a severe weather warning for damaging winds and surf issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for along the coastal fringe from Sydney down through the Illawarra and the northern parts of the South Coast.
Winds averaging 60 to 70km/h are expected with peak gusts in excess of 90km/h possible, while wave heights will be seen in excess of five to six metres, "which may lead to localised damage and coastal erosion", according to the Bureau.
"A transient low pressure system off the central NSW coast is slowly moving eastwards," the Bureau's website states.
"It is expected to remain offshore and to continue tracking slowly east over the coming days, generating vigorous winds and seas over the central and southern coastline. Conditions are expected to ease this morning as it tracks away into the Tasman Sea."
They said surf zones exposed to the south and southeast are at highest risk, meaning beach conditions in those areas could be dangerous and people are advised to stay away from the surf and surf exposed areas.
Locations which may be affected include Sydney, Wollongong, The Entrance, Woy Woy, Bulli, Port Kembla, Kiama, Huskisson, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay and Eden.
Power outages have also been widespread through the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, Southern Highlands and Blue Mountains with 6600 Endeavour Energy customers affected by the ferocious storm.
The winds brought down trees and branches over power lines, causing more than 300 electrical hazards and interrupting supply to 18,000 homes and businesses.
Additional crews were being sent to the hardest hit Shoalhaven and Illawarra regions to clean up storm damage and safely restore power as quickly as possible.
As of 8am Wednesday, areas still without power include:
- Shoalhaven - Vincentia (2265), Jamberoo (874), Sanctuary Point (214), Wandandian (169), Berry (110), Callala Bay (95), Beaumont (67), Curramore (57)
- Illawarra - Lake Heights (271), Albion Park (146), Primbee (67), Warrawong (148)
- Blue Mountains - Blaxland (695), Glenbrook (141), Warrimoo (117), Yellow Rock (65)
- Southern Highlands - Robertson (99).
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