A 76-year-old man has died after being struck by a falling tree during a ferocious storm that swept through New South Wales on Wednesday afternoon. The incident occurred on Glenworth Valley Rd on the Central Coast about 1.20pm.
The storm brought damaging winds and large hailstones, causing widespread destruction across the region. Wind gusts of up to 119km/h were recorded at Nobby's Head, while Trangie recorded 111km/h shortly after midday. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of gusts exceeding 90km/h in areas including Wollongong, Nowra, Canberra, Goulburn, Bowral and Katoomba.
Blacktown City Council reported a large number of fallen trees across suburbs such as Minchinbury, Huntingwood, Mount Druitt, Arndell Park, Bungarribee, Doonside, Blacktown and Rooty Hill. Power infrastructure was severely impacted, with Ausgrid reporting about 33,000 households without power across Sydney and the Newcastle/Hunter Region as of 5pm. Endeavour Energy noted more than 57,000 properties offline, with numbers expected to rise.
Sydney Trains advised commuters that several lines, including the North Shore, Western and Blue Mountains lines, were affected by power supply issues caused by the storm. The network urged passengers to delay travel or consider alternative transport options. The Central Coast and Newcastle regions were among the hardest hit, with suburbs like Erina, Gosford and Mangrove Mountain experiencing significant outages.
Meanwhile, a heatwave warning is in place from Wednesday to Saturday for the Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers, Northern Tablelands and Upper Western regions, with temperatures forecast to reach the mid-30s to low-40s. The Bureau of Meteorology advised residents to stay cool, particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly, young children, pregnant women and those with medical conditions.
