The regional NSW city of Armidale is cleaning up after a late night tornado cut a swathe of destruction leaving thousands in the Northern Tablelands without power.
The wild weather was also replicated in west and southwest Sydney where destructive thunderstorms caused damage and hail larger than five centimetres were reported between Sydney and Cowra in the state’s central west.
New England North West SES commander Mitchell Parker says the tornado inflicted the most damage in Armidale’s north when it hit around 10pm on Thursday.
“We have had reports of cars flipped into houses, rooves completely blown off and numerous trees down,” he told ABC TV on Friday.
Hundreds of calls were made to the SES which sent rescues crews to help people trapped in their houses.
The city of about 25,000 is now dealing with widespread debris and power outages after corrugated iron roofs were ripped off, shingles were sent flying and trees and power poles were brought down.
Power outages are likely to last for at least 24-hours as emergency crews assess the damage.
“It’s been a very interesting storm season,” Mr Parker said.
The SES also received nearly 500 calls for help in Sydney’s west and southwest with the rain continuing throughout Friday.
The roof at a shopping centre at Mt Druitt collapsed as the storm raged.
NSW State Emergency Service Superintendent Scott Dodson said while the storms have been severe no one was hurt.
“We had over 5000 people evacuated but fortunately zero injuries, which is a great result,” he told Nine Network on Friday.
AAP
