A horrific storm has ripped through Sydney’s northern beaches leaving one dead and two injured

Yesterday afternoon at 3:45pm emergency services were called out after a sudden storm that only lasted approximately 15 minutes, wreaked havoc. From Dee Why to Forestville; buildings, trees, power poles and roofs have been pulled apart. 

NSW Police Superintendent Patrick Sharkey has since confirmed that a large tree struck power lines near the Narrabeen Surf Club, falling onto three females. 

“One lady is deceased and two other ladies have been conveyed to hospital who have serious injuries”

The deceased woman, 68, died at the scene. A 70-year-old woman and a 19-year-old woman are both in critical conditions at Royal North Shore hospital. 

NSW Ambulance Inspector Chrstine Marks said “Given the size of this tree it’s remarkable that there weren’t more people injured”

In addition, A young boy was also assessed for minor injuries, but no further action was taken. 

With the wind gushing through at 130km/hr, the RFS has since described the event as a “mini-cyclone”. 

Speaking to the ABC, Luke Hopewell who lives near the Narrabeen Surf Club described the chaos.

“[The] surf life saving club has a small park and a lot of pine trees. One of them had broken at its base, these are 10 to 15-metre trees, and come down onto the park and across the road.”

By that evening, 35,000 homes were still without power. Ausgrid confirmed they would be “working through the night to remove a significant amount of debris and make areas safe to undergo repairs to restore power as soon as possible”. 

NSW Police have also issued a message of warning to motorists:

“Motorists are urged to exercise extreme caution in the area, and delay travel where possible, as power outages are impacting some traffic lights”

Severe thunderstorm alerts remain in place for parts of Sydney, Newcastle, Gosford, Wollongong and Bathurst.

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