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Floodwaters have begun to recede on Sydney streets but a trail of destruction has been left behind.
Suburbs across the Inner West saw extensive flash flooding today with reports of some areas experiencing over a metre of water.
Cars have been abandoned after becoming trapped in floodwaters from Sydney to the Central Coast, leaving authorities with a mammoth clean up.
In Marrickville, a man was seen trying to remove water from his car with a plastic container, just one of many beginning the clean up.
In the east, the Randwick SES unit was called out to a range of storm damage jobs, as well as flood rescues in Wolli Creek and Mascot.
“At present we still have a team of storm and water damage operators attending to several requests for assistance that rolled in this evening with that further band of rain that has now passed over,” the unit said on Tuesday night, on Facebook.
“These requests included a collapsed ceiling and several water leaking jobs.”
Footage shared by local news site the Manly Observer showed water still streaming down Pittwater Road in Dee Why on Tuesday evening.
Many NSW residents will not be surprised after today’s deluge marked the wettest day in almost a year for many of the city’s suburbs.
Weatherzone said there has been more than 110mm of rain at Marrickville since 9am, including 98mm in just two hours this afternoon.
In Sydney’s west, more than 87mm of rain fell at Toongabbie.
Flash flooding on roads in Marickville. Waters are starting to drop here, but drivers are being warned to keep an eye out for wet roads on their commute home. @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/hgDkoRaj4I
— Sophie Upcroft (@SophieUpcroft) February 22, 2022
Weatherzone said today marked the wettest day in 11 months in suburbs including Toongabbie, Baulkham Hills, Prospect, Greystanes, Castle Hill, Bankstown, Canterbury, Sydney Airport, Homebush and Terry HIlls.
Cars and their occupants had to be rescued in Chiswick and Marrickville after floodwaters made it impossible to drive through.
Wolli Creek was hit particularly hard by the flash flooding – water could be seen reaching the top of car tyres.
Despite the warning from authorities, motorists are continuing to drive through floodwaters.
Commuters hoping to escape the deluge got wet anyway as a bus was flooded in Wolli Creek.
Other city suburbs including Tempe and Sydenham have also been inundated by flash flooding.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a road weather alert for all Sydney suburbs.
The BoM has also cancelled the severe weather warning for the Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Tablelands and Lower Western districts.
Meanwhile, some Chiswick residents made the most of the floodwaters, using boogie boards to play in a small puddle.
NSW State Emergency Service (SES) Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said there have been more than 460 requests for help across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter region.
There have also been 20 flood rescues.
Mr Storey added the majority of the rescues have been due to people attempting to drive through floodwaters.
“Operational activity is probably highest in western Sydney at this point in time, the majority of flood rescues we’re seeing if people driving through flood waters,” he said.
“Sydney overall has been heavily impacted by the rainfall today, the city’s Inner West, and western Sydney are very, very wet, many roads will be flooded as people finish work for the day.”
Mr Storey urged residents to avoid unnecessary driving and not to drive through flooded roads.
“If it’s flooded, forget it, turn around and find another way,” he said.
He also warned the heavy rainfall is expected to continue through the evening.
Central Coast highway closed due to flooding
A major NSW motorway has been completely flooded after storms and heavy rain lashed the area overnight.
The Central Coast Highway is closed in both directions at West Gosford, prompting warnings for people to avoid the area, especially with more wild weather on the way.
Severe thunderstorms are forecast again today, and the BoM has issued a warning for a large area stretching from Newcastle to Wollongong.
People in the Sydney, Hunter, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, Lower Western and Upper Western Forecast Districts, have been told to brace for rainfall and damaging winds.
It comes after Sydney was hit by a violent storm cell yesterday, which brought flash flooding, lightning strikes and hail to the western suburbs.
A home was set alight in Glenmore Park after it was struck by a bolt of lightning.
Oliver Lachat was at his Glenmore Park home, in Sydney’s west, with his four children when they heard a “big bang” and started to smell something burning.
Source: 9News
