NSW has been lashed by heavy rainstorms causing widespread damage and flooding in the greatest deluge the state has seen since 1998.
Since Thursday 6 February, Sydney’s Observatory Hill has recorded almost 400 millilitre in rainfall, making it the most rainfall over a four-day period for Sydney since the 1990s.
Conditions eased overnight on Sunday, leading to a wet Monday morning, as Sydneysiders begin assessing and cleaning up the damage caused over the weekend.
Fallen trees and powerlines, and damaged infrastructure are affecting residents and creating dangerous conditions across the state on Monday. The SES have advised residents to stay home from work as roads and the rail network experience extensive damage.
Power outages are causing chaos leaving over 113,000 homes without power on Sunday night. Ausgrid crews advised the public that they currently are working to restore power as soon as possible, with over 110,000 homes still without power on Monday. Ausgrid says that it could be several days until power is fully restored with fallen trees, power lines and poles affecting repair efforts.
Sydney’s train network is also experiencing major delays and chaos as services are suspended or cancelled following several damages to the system. Officials are advising commuters that all non-essential travel should be avoided and extra time allocated to reach destinations for those who must travel.
Multiple light rail services are also canceled with bus replacements picking up the slack where possible.
Over 60 public, independant and catholic schools are closed as of Monday due to flooding and power outages creating dangerous conditions. Parents and students are being urged to keep up to date with closures as conditions change.
Multiple flood evacuations orders and warnings have been issued over the weekend with the the SES issuing seven evacuation orders across NSW so far.
Residents in Moorebank, Chipping Norton, Milperra, Narabeen Lagoon, Pitt Town Bottoms, Richmond Lowlands, Gronos Point, North Richmond Lowlands, and low lying areas along the Georges River have all advised to evacuate.
Further information on evacuations, warnings, watches and what to do following flooding is available at https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/.
