The government has called it: the Illawarra's three local council areas are officially disaster zones after the wild storms of April 5.
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Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama are included on the 12-strong list that also features Camden, Wollondilly, and Sutherland.
As swift and destructive as the deluge may have been on Saturday, so too has been the response from communities.
There was barely a postcode that escaped without damage when the predicted deluge came to fruition in the early hours of Saturday, April 6. Our readers detailed the damage.
And if there's any doubt there's much to be assessed and repaired, these Anna Warr images from Saturday prove it.
The reason why Sea Cliff Bridge is unreachable from Wollongong's northern suburbs.
The force of water under asphalt has ripped up the roadway.
Huge rocks were swept down onto the roadway.
A State Emergency Service crew kept watch over the scene.
Thar she blows - water cannons skywards from a burst pipe on Lawrence Hargrave Drive on Saturday.
Just having a chat - surrounded by the debris of a wild early morning, of course.
Cyclists on the way down Lawrence Hargrave Drive pulled up pretty quickly.
Coalcliff resident, Dr Rob Brander (aka Dr Rip) works on clearing mud and debris off the Sea Cliff Bridge against a blue sky backdrop.
Professor Brander was awarded an OAM in 2023 for significant service to coastal science and the community, through beach safety research and education.
He's also a passionate member of the Coalcliff community.
And was out cleaning up the public walkway not long after the clouds cleared on Saturday.
The scene was something like a Hollywood movie set - except the rocks weren't made of foam.
Run-off continues to spill over the escarpment hours after the initial storm.
There was a substantial amount of mud to be cleared.
Damage to the road surface and pavement has been significant along a vast stretch of the road's northern reaches.
Not a lot managed to withstand the force of nature off the escarpment on Saturday morning.
Businesses begin the clean-up from overnight flooding on Lawrence Hargrave, Austinmer. Mud is swept out of Shell's Diner.
Just a typical streetscape in Wollongong's northern suburbs on Saturday. Sadly.
Rick Fleming surveys the damage to the beer garden at Shell's Diner, which he has spent the last few months fixing up with his sons. They only bought the business a few months ago.
Greg Soster wasn't about to let walk past the mess left in Austinmer on Saturday. He volunteered for the unofficial community clean-up on Lawrence Hargrave Drive immediately.
There was much to do.
Businesses begin the clean-up from overnight flooding on Lawrence Hargrave, Austinmer.
Leaning in to the hard work on Lawrence Hargrave Drive at Austinmer.
Debris from the wild weather swamped beaches up and down the coast over the weekend.
There was minor flooding at Pilates Studio Limber Co.
Greg Soster and his wife are regulars at this Austinmer cafe so when it came to lending a hand to help with the big clean-up he volunteered willingly.
It was an all-in effort to get started on the big clean-up.
That sludge heads straight out the door at Austinmer's Shell's Diner.
That's not what you need to see on any morning. But the clean-up effort began in earnest straight away.
The mess left on the floor at Austinmer's Shell's Diner was replicated across the northern suburbs' businesses on Saturday.
Businesses begin the clean-up from overnight flooding in Thirroul early on Saturday morning.
Not exactly what you ever need to see poking out from a garage. This was in Austinmer.
Garth Fleming is one of the new owners at Shell's Diner in Austinmer. The enormity of the clean-up task is obvious.
A life guard collects storm debris on Austinmer Beach on Saturday morning.
No surprise high seas and a swathe of debris kept beaches across the Illawarra closed over the weekend.
Just a sample of what some businesses owners faced first thing on Saturday in the northern suburbs.
