Insane weather turns beachside Aussie suburb into a ‘winter wonderland’ as wild winds dump 70cm of sand onto the street
- Strong wild winds turns Maroubra Road in Sydney into a ‘winter wonderland’
- The winds blew mountains of sand from the beaches, leaving 70cm on the roadÂ
- BoM said East Coast Low expected to weaken on Monday with easing rainfallÂ
- While the risk of major flooding remains across parts of New South Wales
Sydney’s crazy weather has turned a beachside suburb into what appears to be a ‘winter wonderland’. Â
Gale force winds dumped some 70cm of sand onto Maroubra Road in the city’s eastern suburbs on Sunday evening.Â
The mountains of sand blown in from the beaches made the suburb look more like a ski field – with trucks brought in to clean it up on Monday.
On Sunday, the strong wild winds dumped 70cm of sand onto Maroubra Road in Sydney (pictured)
Surf Life Saving NSW posted footage on Monday morning of the clean up efforts after the winds blew mountains of sand in from the beaches (pictured)
The wild scenes came as major flooding occurs along the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers and Menangle, Wallacia and North Richmond, in the city’s greater west.Â
Further surges are expected at Windsor and Lower Portland on Monday evening and at Wisemans Ferry on Tuesday.
Severe weather warnings for damaging winds and hazardous surf remain current for NSW and there remains the risk of flash flooding and landslips.
More than 32,000 people across the state were today urged to leave their homes while another 6,000 told to be on alert and ready to leave.Â
Camden, in the city’s far-west, is among the worst places hit with the town submerged for the fourth time this year while parts of Lansvale, Chipping Norton and Moorebank have also gone under water. Â
More evacuation orders have been issued for thousands of residents as heavy rain and floods continue to pummel NSW (pictured, NSW SES Canterbury Unit evacuating residents in Chipping Norton and Lansvale regions)
A driver became stranded in flood waters before SES personnel came to the rescue at Windsor in north-west of Sydney
The Bureau of Meteorology is also investigating whether a tornado or waterspout damaged 40 homes in Bellambi and Corrimal, in the Illawarra region, on Sunday.
The rough conditions have forced rescue crews to postpone plans to transport 21 crew members trapped on a cargo ship stranded off the coast of NSW.Â
The Portland Bay bulk carrier is about one kilometre off Garie Beach in the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, and lost power on Monday morning.Â
Rescue efforts are underway.Â
The driver rescued from his car trapped in floodwaters was ferried to safety by SES personnel in Windsor, north-west of Sydney
Windsor Bridge is almost completely submerged as water levels continued to rise along the Hawkesbury River on Monday
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned the rainfall is expected to continue to fall along the coast for the remainder of the week with more downpours coming throughout winter and possibly the spring.
BoM blamed the prolonged conditions on the combination of a possible negative Indian Ocean Dipole and positive Southern Annular Mode.
SES spokesman Ashley Sullivan says even if the rain eases this week, as predicted, rivers will continue to rise because the already saturated flood plains cannot absorb any water.
‘We are seeing these rivers rise much faster than what’s been predicted. Much faster than what we expected,’ he told the Nine Network on Monday.
‘Things are happening quicker. The risk … has increased significantly.’
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