Severe thunderstorms brought heavy rain and strong winds to parts of New South Wales, Australia, from 23 October 2020.
Flooding and wind damage disrupted traffic. Power supply was interrupted in some areas. New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) said crews carried out 6 flood rescues across the state, mostly drivers in vehicles stuck in floodwaters.
SES said it received over 500 requests for assistance over the weekend, ranging from fallen trees, damaged roofs and floods in various parts of the state due to storms and heavy rain. The worst of the flooding was in a small town in Tumbarumba.
The heavy rain has continued. On 26 October, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said “A low pressure trough sitting off the coastline has brought continuous rainfall overnight with observations of 192mm at Mt Elliot, 129mm at Williamtown and 128mm at Gosford.”
The stormy weather affected other parts of the country, with BoM reporting more than 2.24 million lightning strikes in 48 hours to 25 October. Most of the lightning occurred over Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Territory. More storms and heavy rain were forecast for the coming week.
Social Media
Some photos of the current flooding situation in #Tumbarumba, affecting local roads, caravan parks and ovals.
If it’s flooded, forget it! 🚗❌ pic.twitter.com/ETq6Z0kiYZ
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) October 24, 2020
Man rescued from ute as #Tumbarumba floods
Yesterday, NSW SES Swift Water Technicians successfully rescued a man from his ute after being trapped by floodwater in Tumbarumba. Continue reading https://t.co/7p4o28bAiW pic.twitter.com/IQaeiEedJ7
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) October 24, 2020
Our #Blacktown flood rescue co-ordinators have been deployed to in-land NSW to #Tumut & #Tumbarumba.
These areas have received localised flooding from heavy downpours of rain with more severe weather expected. ⛈
For assistance during #storms & #floods, call @NSWSES on 132 500 pic.twitter.com/qqZj6JkkdY
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) October 24, 2020
