A tornado has ripped through central west NSW, injuring three people, tearing down powerlines and destroying buildings and trees in its path.
The violent storm travelled up to 30km on Thursday afternoon and demolished a house at Meadow Flat in the Bathurst region, while at least one other home along with sheds and other structures were also destroyed in the area.
Emergency services attended Meadow Flat before 2pm where a man in his 40s was treated for a laceration to his right arm.
A woman at Clear Creek northeast of Bathurst suffered injuries to her back and neck and was taken to Bathurst hospital in a stable condition.
A man in the area was also assessed but didn’t require further medical attention.
Bureau of Meteorologist senior climatologist Agata Imielska said there were signs of damage over a 25 to 30km line, running roughly northwest.
This included destoryed and damaged houses, cars, many fallen trees and powerlines across roads.
Around 120 homes are expected to be without power overnight.Â
NSW Ambulance Inspector Meah Ferguson, who attended the man with the injured arm at Meadow Flat, said the patient’s house and surrounds were extensively damaged.
“It’s not every day you get called out to a tornado and this one packed quite a punch,” she said in a statement.
“When you look at the kind of damage the tornado caused, it’s lucky the patient escaped with relatively minor injuries.”
Peel resident Kathy Jones said she saw a “big, black cloud” in the sky and came home to see her house “swirling around”.
“”There’s broken windows, you always think you can go and hide under a bed but there’s glass everywhere in the house, even … the chimney’s torn out of it so there’s smoke all in the house,” the ABC reported her saying.
“There’s trees just up against the fence, the chooks yard is all blown down, there’s chooks everywhere.”
The tornado is part of a larger weather system that has been causing severe thunderstorms around parts of the NSW and the ACT for several days.
BOM said warnings continue and more storms are currently ongoing in different areas.
“So people need to check their local areas as the situation is volatile,” BOM said in a statement.
AAP
