NSW SES Has Responded to More Than 3000 Incidents In 3 Days During Severe Storms

NSW SES Has Responded to More Than 3000 Incidents In 3 Days During Severe Storms
Image: Sydney storm captured by @philipps.world.of.photography on Instagram

The New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) has responded to over 3,000 incidents since Wednesday morning as powerful storms continue to cause widespread damage across the state. 

NSW SES Commissioner Mike Wassing ASFM confirmed that more than 900 SES members have been addressing ongoing incidents across the state. He noted that the most severe damage has been recorded in western NSW, the Riverina, and the Hunter regions.

“We’ve had significant damage recorded in western NSW, the Riverina and the Hunter regions due to the storms. Our members in the Maitland area are working through more than 500 incidents that remain outstanding,” Commissioner Wassing said in a statement. 

Powerful storms hit Sydney, western NSW, Riverina and Hunter regions

On Wednesday afternoon, significant thunderstorms affected the Riverina and southern NSW bringing down trees, powerlines, and damaging homes. Heavy rainfall, destructive winds, and large hailstones also impacted Sydney, the Illawarra and the Newcastle/Hunter region. 

On Thursday, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a flood watch for several catchments, including the Orara, Coffs Coast, Bellinger and Kalang, Manning and Gloucester, Myall River, Karuah River, Wollombi Brook, Lower Hunter, and Paterson and Williams River areas. 

The SES has issued a Watch and Act warning for northern NSW in response to the ongoing storm warnings. 

Residents in the affected areas, including Tweed Heads and the Northern Rivers are urged to stay indoors due to the forecasted heavy rainfall, destructive winds, and giant hailstones.

As the SES continues to manage storm-related risks across northern NSW, Ausgrid is working to restore power to affected areas, with crews focused on getting electricity back online for thousands of residents impacted by the severe weather.

Ausgrid Restores Power to Over 100 000 Homes 

Ausgrid emergency crews have successfully restored power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses across the state following severe storms that caused widespread damage to the electricity network. 

As of Friday morning, 4,500 customers in Northern Sydney and 30,000 in the Hunter and Newcastle areas remain without power. While Ausgrid expects to restore electricity to a significant portion of these customers by the end of the day, some may experience outages through the weekend, particularly in areas like Port Stephens, which was severely impacted by the storm.

The electricity distributor released a statement on Friday, outlining the ongoing efforts to rebuild and restore several critical power lines, many of which are located in hard-to-reach bushland. 

“Our crews will continue working through the day to restore power to remaining customers as quickly and safely as possible. As we work to get the power back on, the safety of the community and our crews is our top priority.

Ausgrid has deployed additional resources, including drones, to the hardest-hit areas. This will allow teams to conduct reconnaissance and ensure power is restored to as many customers as quickly as possible.

Individuals are urged to stay at least 8 metres away from fallen power lines. 

Residents in need of assistance are advised to contact the NSW SES at 132 500 or visit their website for the latest updates and safety guidance.

Those in the Ausgrid network area are encouraged to report electrical hazards by calling 13 13 88 or visiting ausgrid.com.au/hazards.

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