Source : the age
A man has been killed, and thousands of properties are without power after severe storms hit Sydney and NSW on Thursday.
A driver believed to be in his 80s died after a tree fell on his vehicle in Cowra in the state’s Central West on Thursday afternoon.
Lightning seen from Anzac Memorial Bridge in Newcastle.Credit: Getty Images
Emergency services were called to Lachlan Valley Way and found the man dead at the scene. He has not yet been formally identified.
The NSW State Emergency Service SES has received more than 2250 calls and responded to more than 1800 incidents in the last 24 hours.
The storms left more than 140,000 customers without power, the SES said, with Ausgrid customers reporting more than 300 electrical hazards.
Ausgrid said emergency crews worked overnight clearing debris and dealing with hazards but warned that some customers would remain without power until Friday “at the earliest”.
Four people were injured in Bowen after high winds flipped demountable huts, the SES said, while a person in Castle Hill was trapped in their car by a fallen tree.
A roof was ripped off a property in Carlingford, forcing 14 people to seek emergency accommodation.
Severe thunderstorms will combine with a low-pressure weather system that is expected to bring locally significant rain from Thursday through to Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
Widespread rain of 30–80 millimetres is expected, the Bureau says, with some localised higher totals. The rain is expected to peak on Friday.
The SES has warned people camping near rivers and creeks on the Central Coast, Mid North Coast and North Coast to prepare for severe weather.
A flood watch has been issued for the Orara, Coffs Coast, Bellinger and Kalang River Catchments, Manning and Gloucester, Myall River, Karuah River, Wollombi Brook and Lower Hunter, and Paterson and Williams River, with minor flooding possible.
