Sydney's Worst Storm in 40 Years

Sydney's wild weather: Worst storm in 40 years devastates coastal homes and 1000 are evacuated as entire swimming pool collapses into the ocean

• By Cindy Tran For Daily Mail Australia, Julian Robinson For Mailonline, Lucy Mae Beers, 
• June 6th, 2016

The worst storm to hit Sydney in 40 years has devastated beach-front properties, forced the evacuation of up to 1,000 people from their homes and sparked traffic chaos in the city.

Aerial pictures taken from a drone show how huge waves whipped up by 80mph winds have torn into to the coastline around the city, in New South Wales, Australia.

As weather experts warned of further damage from abnormally high tides, dramatic images show a home's swimming pool after it collapsed in to the ocean along a northern Sydney beach.

Public transport was left in chaos with train and ferry cancellations leaving hordes of peak hour commuters lining up for replacement buses at Bondi Junction and Martin Place station.  

A devastated woman from Sydney's northern beaches has described the moment she watched her pool and garden collapse into the ocean (pictured) at Collaroy

Ocean foam from the abnormally high tide lapped the edge of homes on Monday morning, leaving emergency crews struggling to commence a clean-up of the beach

Incredible drone images show the extent of the damage to properties on the coast of Collaroy including chunks of front yards missing

'There's no garden now, where do we go? I have a dog, where is it going to go?,' Ms Silk said about her property on Monday

The northern beaches of Sydney bore the brunt of the ferocity - with the king tides slamming into the Beach Club at Collaroy

A man stands talking on the phone in what was once the Beach Club at Collraoy - which was savaged by the ferocious storm

Meanwhile Residents in the suburb of Vaucluse watched as huge waves sent spray 150ft up over cliff tops.

Zaza Silk, from Collaroy, Sydney, said she lost up to 15 metres of coastline after fierce winds and 150 millimetres of rain battered her property like 'an earthquake.

'There's no garden now, where do we go? I have a dog, where is it going to go?,' Ms Silk told Sunrise on Monday.  

The brunt of the storm is yet to hit the Illawarra region of New South Wales and another 100 millimetres of rainfall is expected before the low-pressure system moves on to Tasmania on Monday evening. 

More waves buffet the cliffs about 3pm on Sunday. 'I'd never seen it go up the cliff (before),' said Mr Leite, who watched the storm from his balcony

The roaring swell tried its mightiest to lick the waterside properties here in Sydney's eastern suburbs as photographer Adriano Leite watched from his balcony on Sunday

Even the houses up high weren't safe from the might of the 'East Coast Low' - with huge waves slamming into the rock here at Diamond Bay and ferocious winds carrying their rage into homes

Ms Silk, who has lived at the property for three years, was visibly upset as she described watching the water edge closer and closer to her waterfront home.

She was evacuated from her property at 7.30pm on Sunday and believes the water was only 25 metres away from her garden when she left.

'Within three hours we had a garden that was just totally destroyed, gone. Within three hours the majority of the damage were made,' she said.

'It was very [frightening]. I was shaking. You'd be standing in the garden, it was like an earthquake you'd see cracks coming in. And all of a sudden it would just be washed away. 

'I've left a cat in the house, I can't even get into the house to check on it.'

A combination of the tide, the storm and the direction of the wind meant the beachside homes were the target.

Zaza Silk (pictured) said she lost up to 15 metres of coastline after the 125km/h winds and 150 millimetres of rain thrashed her property like 'an earthquake'

Ms Silk's swimming pool had almost been carried away by the king tide and the water continued to lap the coast's edge

Ms Silk was evacuated from her property at 7.30pm on Sunday and believes the water was only 25 metres away from her garden

Although authorities worked well into the night to try and save the facade of Coogee Surf Life Saving Club (pictured), by the morning the front wall had fallen into the ocean and left devastating carnage

Majority of Collaroy beachfront was also destroyed and terrified residents watched on as parts of Collaroy Beach Club swept into the ocean on Sunday night (pictured)

'There's no garden now, where do we go? I have a dog, where is it going to go?,' Ms Silk told Sunrise on Monday

Ms Silk, whose home is pictured, said she as been unable to check if her cat is still inside the property after she left at 7.30pm on Sunday  

Ms Silk, who has lived at the property for three years, was visibly upset as she described watching the water edge closer and closer to her waterfront home before it ripped her garden and swimming pool away

The brunt of the storm is yet to hit the Illawarra region and another 100 millimetres of rainfall is expected before the low-pressure system moves on to Tasmania on Monday evening

The king tide continued to smash the waterfront properties on Monday as emergency services assessed the damage

Residents from seven houses and a unit block at Collaroy were evacuated at about 8pm on Sunday night as eight-metre waves slammed the coast leading to major erosion.

More than 5000 calls for assistance were made to the State Emergency Services on Sunday and 30,000 homes in the city and on the Central Coast were left without power due to fallen trees and power lines. 

Over a thousand people were evacuated in total after the seven-metre high king tide flooded the state.

Oceanfront buildings were washed into the sea as the sun went down with many properties along Narrabeen and Collaroy beaches losing five metres or more of their front yards due to the rising sea levels.  

After Narrabeen Lakes breached its banks, more than 700 residents were evacuated by the NSW Fire and Rescue Services. They spent the evening at home of friends or family or in nearby evacuation centres.

A total of 12 schools remained closed on Monday after flood waters affected the ground. They included Narrabeen Lakes Public School, Picton High School, Tanja Public School and Wallacia Public School.  

More than 300 people were also evacuated from Lansvale in Sydney's southwest and 450 were also told to seek alternate shelter in Chipping North, according to The Daily Telegraph. 

A keen surfer made the most of the massive swell on Monday and with the help of a jet ski, dropped in on a huge wave at Narrabeen beach on Monday morning

Up to 10-15 metres of waterfront land washed away at Collaroy overnight as residents return to their homes to assess the damage after being evacuated on Sunday night. This surfer enjoyed the swell at Narrabeen

On Monday, NSW Fire and Rescue crews worked to rescue stranded residents, including this man in Coffs Harbour 

A swimming pool, clothesline and fence were almost completely submerged by flood water on Monday in Sydney 

A group of teenagers braved the 125 km/h winds on Sunday to snap a photo as waves battered Cape Solander, just south of Sydney's CBD

A tree was ripped from the ground outside the Channel Nine studios in Willoughby as the rain battered the street

Fire and Rescue NSW have responded to thousands of storm-related incidents over the weekend and have commenced a massive clean-up

Teams were working before first light on Monday and donned protective gear as they used kayaks to assess the damage 

Coogee beach was devastated by monster waves overnight with pictures showing collapsed fences and the facade of the surf club destroyed 

It was prime conditions in NSW's north for experienced board riders with many rushing to the beach to surf the massive swell

A crowd formed, with some bringing camping chairs, to watch the surfers take on the mammoth surf in northern NSW on Monday

Commuters faced significant delays as they lined up for replacement buses due to train and ferry cancellations

Peak hour commuters at Bondi Junction station (pictured) were left lining up for replacement buses after the line was temporarily closed to due to fallen trees in overhead wires

After turning up to Bondi Junction station, commuters were left frustrated after discovering there were replacement buses and significant delays 

Parts of the Collaroy Beach Club collapsed into the ocean on Sunday night and by Monday morning, the entire facade had crumbled away. 

Emergency services are desperately working to keep a number of sinkholes under control after they opened up on the Collaroy coast overnight. 

NSW Fire and Rescue were in the water at 'first light' and used kayaks to assess the damage in flooded areas. 

Collaroy resident Matt Kemp shared alarming footage on social media, showing his neighbour's swimming pool being dragged into the sea on Sunday night.  

'I also saw power poles, wheelie bins and roofs and heaps of garden furniture washing past. Pretty crazy. No rain for ages and then whoosh, have a bit of that!!!' he wrote on Facebook. 

Senior research associate Mitchell Harley told The Sydney Morning Herald the weather system was the 'perfect storm' as he hasn't seen such extreme erosion since 1974.

Collaroy local Matt Kemp shared a shocking footage of his neighbour's front yard slowly crumbling into the sea as a swimming pool is seen being dragged into the water on Sunday night

Parts of a swimming pool has been swept into the ocean as wild weather ripped through the state on Sunday

A sinkhole emerged on a property after the torrential downpour and emergency services have been working to plug the hole

Houses (pictured) at Collaroy lost five metres of their front yards due to the king tide smashing the coast

'The beaches will eventually recover; the issue is whether the infrastructure next to the beach will survive the storm,' he said. 

A video posted to the University of NSW's Facebook page shows a 'king high tide' smashing at the coastline at Narrabeen on Sunday evening.   

Residents from Sydney's south-west suburbs Picton and Wollondilly have been asked to refrain from returning to their homes on Monday after the rising water left people climbing to their roof. 

Several low-lying suburbs in Sydney's southwest and parts of its north were evacuated as between 70 and 90mm fell, blanketing the sodden city on Sunday.

'We have been very busy,' FRNSW commissioner Greg Mullins said. 

On Sunday, residents in Narrabeen (pictured) took to kayaking and wading through the water as the suburb was battered with torrential rain 

Bondi beach (pictured) was left bare on Sunday as residents remained indoors while the wild weather thrashed the city

Vehicles risked floating away on Kembla Street in Wollongong after the floodwater reached the side mirrors of parked cars on Sunday

Bronte beach was smashed with enormous waves on Sunday morning as the rain pelted Sydney's east

Sydney beachfront properties were under threat from the storm which is producing six metre waves with significant erosion seen at Narrabeen-Collaroy beach (pictured) in the northern beaches

Parts of the Collaroy Beach Club collapsed into the ocean on Sunday night as wild weather continues

Chunks of sandstone have crumbled into the ocean along a beach in Narrabeen in Sydney's northern beaches

Multi-million dollar properties fell into the ocean in Collaroy (pictured) on Sunday

Dramatic scenes emerged along Collaroy as Sydney was hit with a severe storm on Sunday

Sydney beachfront properties were under threat as from the winter's savage storms over the weekend

Waves were seen stripping the beaches of sand and old sea walls that were put in place almost 54 years ago emerged for the first time since the foundations were built

A father and son stranded at the bus stop on Sunday evening as wild weather swept through the state

700 Narrabeen residents were asked to evacuate on Narrabeen Street and Pittwater Road as well as Ramsey Street due to ongoing weather conditions, police said

'There have been times this weekend when every single crew within the greater Sydney area was deployed.'

Further west, the heavy rain caused the Nepean and Georges Rivers to swell to dangerous levels, prompting authorities to evacuate locals. 

Almost 526mm of rain fell in the Nepean River's catchment area over the weekend, with 128mm coming down in just six hours. 

The high tides will remain throughout Monday and SES crews have warned 'it is not safe to be down at the beach'.

A freak 12-metre wave was detected at Botany Bay on Sunday, prompting emergency services to issue a warning about erosion and sea-water flooding to residents living near the coast.

The state's north was also hit hard, with a 'phenomenal' 400mm of rain hammering Coffs Harbour over the weekend, a BOM spokesman said. 

During the weekend's powerful storms about 7700 calls for help were made to the SES, who have performed about 200 flood rescues.

More than 50 were underway in Sydney alone on Sunday evening. 

The brunt of the storm is yet to hit the Illawarra region and another 100 millimetres of rainfall is expected before the low-pressure system moves on to Tasmania on Monday evening

Properties around Narrabeen were under severe threat and residents were urged to evacuate due to floodwaters

Extreme weather made its way down the east coast of Australia as residents were urged to evacuate 

At Cape Solander, near Kurnell, the ocean foam and gale force winds gave the impression of a waterfall over the coast's edge

Two children decided to make the most of the severe weather on Sunday, grabbing their rash vests and boogie boards and heading to Warriewood Valley Sports Ground (pictured)

A cockatoo sits on the balcony as vehicles are seen submerged following torrential rain over the weekend

The SES is continuing to work through the 9000 calls they received overnight on Sunday and will work at 'first light' to start the massive clean-up.

Dangerous waves are expected to continue to pound the state's coast on Monday, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting another day of foul weather in the south.

Major flooding is expected around Menangle on Monday as the extensive downpour is channelled into the Nepean River. 

The complex low that brought the heavy rains and winds was hitting Victoria and Tasmania on Monday. The wind is expected to reach up to 90 kilometres an hour in some areas.

The streets of Narrabeen were flooded following heavy rain and wild storms across Sydney on Sunday

Two residents are seeing canoeing down a street as a flash flooding battered New South Wales on Sunday

Northern Beach residents have been urged to stay aware of rising waters especially in the Narrabeen area

On Monday, the storm moved south and Fourth River (pictured) in north-west Tasmania broke its banks mid-morning 

The SES worked throughout the night on Sunday to remove fallen trees and power lines in Sydney's east

A keen surfer was wiped out by a huge wave at Shark Beach in Vaucluse on Sunday morning as the wild weather battered the state