More Storms For Sydney as 55 Thousand Homes Remain Without Power After Wild Weather
Thousands of homes in Sydney are not expected to have electricity back up and running until mid-morning after thunderstorms felled trees across the city
The Guardian / SBS, 8 FEB 2019.
Flights have been grounded and trains delayed as Sydney braces through a severe storm. Source: Twitter...
Thousands of Sydney residents will wake without electricity after an intense burst of thunderstorms caused widespread power outages.
Nine people were rescued from floodwaters and more than 40,000 properties lost power after the storms across Sydney and the Illawarra and the Hunter regions on Friday evening.
Flash flooding in Parramatta and other parts of western Sydney turned intersections to lakes and led several drivers to ask for SES help to get them out of their cars.
Guildford copped 61 millimetres of rain, including 47mm in just 30 minutes while Sydney Olympic Park received 40mm in the 40 minutes to 7pm.
The SES was responding to more than 500 jobs, mainly for leaky roofs and trees down.
Meanwhile, Endeavour Energy is tending to more than 250 electrical hazards that cut power to 29,000 homes.
In the city's north and east, some 15,000 properties on Ausgrid's network went dark.
Across Sydney and nearby coastal regions, thousands aren't likely to have electricity restored until mid-morning.
Video posted on social media showed flash flooding in Parramatta, with water inundating cars.
Train and airport services have also been affected by the wild weather.
At 7.30 pm, Sydney Trains announced some services were delayed after lightning damaged equipment at Blacktown, while social media users posted photos of water leaking inside the train carriage.
A Sydney Airport spokesperson said 30 flights had been delayed due to the weather, with travellers facing delays of up to 90 minutes.
Earlier this evening, the NSW Rural Fire Service warned that the strong winds would increase fire risk across parts of the state over the weekend, forecasting "very high fire danger".