Sydneysiders urged to stay home as deluge causes chaos
Sydneysiders are being urged to avoid all non-essential travel after devastating storms ripped through the city over the weekend.
Almost 400mm of rain fell across parts of Sydney and coastal New South Wales, causing flash flooding and leaving more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power.
The SES has received more than 10,000 calls for assistance as two flood evacuation orders were carried out on the northern beaches and in south-western Sydney.
RAINFALL
CBD – 392mm
Holsworthy – 369mm
Lucas Heights – 360mm
Blackheath – 321mm
Camden – 320mm
Penrith – 269mm
SES Commissioner Carlene York tells Alan Jones there are still warnings in place around Narrabeen Lagoon.
“It’s still unsafe to go back, the roads are cut. We wanted to make sure people got out.
“It’s a mixture of this massive high tide we had yesterday as well as that area is low-lying.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full update
The transport network has been thrown into chaos for the Monday morning commute with trains, light rail, buses and ferries all effected.
Trains:
- T7 Olympic Park Line – No trains between Lidcombe and Olympic Park.
- South Coast Line – Buses are replacing trains between Waterfall and Thirroul, buses are supplementing trains between Thirroul and Dapto.
- Central Coast & Newcastle Line – Buses are replacing trains between Hornsby and Morisset.
- Blue Mountains Line – Buses are replacing trains between Lawson, Lithgow and Bathurst.
- Southern Highlands Line – No trains are running between Campbelltown and Goulburn.
Light Rail:
- L1 Dulwich Hill Line – Buses are replacing services between Central and Convention and Lewisham West and Dulwich Hill.
Ferries
- F1 Manly – Buses are replacing ferries between Manly and Circular Quay
- F3 Parramatta – Buses are replacing ferries between Parramatta and Rydalmere
Buses
- A large number of buses are being diverted around road closures and missing stops.
There are road closures in place across much of Sydney with authorities urging people to work from home where possible.
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- Detailed road closures can be found here
Chief Operations Officer at Transport NSW (Greater Sydney) Howard Collins tells Deborah Knight train lines in and out of Sydney are impacted on the Blue Mountains service as well as from Gosford towards Hornsby.
“If you don’t need to travel today it’s going to take longer than normal, so leave that until probably tomorrow.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview
Life-threatening flash flooding warnings are in place in the Illawarra and on the South Coast as the weather system moves south.
The rain is expected to hit fire grounds but authorities say residents in those areas are even more vulnerable to flooding.
Alan Jones has a farm in the Southern Highlands and took this video over the weekend.
Image: SMH/Jacqui Kirk