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Latest posts yesterday 9.03pm
Today’s key developments By Kayla Olaya Thank you for following our live coverage as a rapidly intensifying low-pressure system brings heavy rain and wild winds to Sydney and around the state, triggering evacuation orders for multiple properties on the Central Coast.
Here are some of today’s key developments:
The BoM has issued a severe weather warning for much of the NSW coast, as the NSW SES says the complex low-pressure system is heading south into Newcastle, Sydney and the Illawarra, lashing the coast with wind and rain. Most of coastal Sydney has been advised to stay indoors, as dangerous winds hit the city, including gusts in excess of 125km/h. Dozens of homes in the Central Coast have been told to “evacuate now” by the SES in The Entrance North, Wamberal and Terrigal as dangerous waves are posing a threat of coastal erosion. Across NSW, 30,000 homes are without power. The hardest-hit areas currently are the Central Coast, with 15,000 homes without power, then the Hunter Region with 13,000, and finally 1500 in Sydney. The NSW South Coast and Illawarra are bracing for a horror night full of heavy rain and destructive winds as the coastal low continues its path down the east coast of the state. An estimated 1200 SES volunteers have responded to 1039 callouts throughout the state, with falling power lines, trees, and danger on roads likely to increase as the storm progresses. Sydney could see 50mm to 70mm of rainfall, with more than 100mm in isolated falls in coastal parts of the metropolitan area. The Warragamba Dam has hit 98 per cent capacity and will probably spill in the next few days, WaterNSW has said. Heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding anywhere from Newcastle to the Illawarra, including Sydney, but the bureau is forecasting the heaviest downpour to hit the South Coast. NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib has said “the situation is going to worsen over the course of the next 24 hours”, before the impacts of the low-pressure system are likely to ease on Thursday. If you want to know more about the “bombogenesis”, our science reporter Angus Dalton explains below. yesterday 8.52pm
Where is the coastal low right now? By Kayla Olaya The east coast of NSW is currently experiencing a battering of heavy rainfall and pummelling winds, which experts have classed as a vigorous coastal low – and it’s currently right off the Central Coast.
“At the moment, it is a low that’s sitting off the Central Coast, some distan
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