(Newswire.net — December 16, 2015) –Windspeeds of up to 132 miles per hour with torrential rains and hail hit Sydney’s suburb of Kurnell, in the Gulf of Botany, on Wednesday morrning.
Hail the size of golf balls were falling, an eyewitnesses sad. Social media users posted photos showing flipped and damaged cars, flooded streets with random objects blown around by the winds.
“Dark grey clouds resembling the end of the world”, somebody wrote on Twitter. “We don’t get situations like that without it being a tornado. It is what’s called a super-cell thunderstorm and they’re one of the most dangerous thunderstorms we get,” said Michael Hogan from the Bureau of Meteorology to ABC.
Two people were taken to the hospital for minor injuries, reported BBC.
Officials say it is great luck that there are no major injuries, but the tornado caused significant damage and several homes were destroyed.
More than 10.000 homes are left without electricity, emergency services had more than 500 calls for help, about 11 cases of flooding, and many people remained blocked in their vehicles.
Around 180 children were evacuated from schools in Kurnell.
One of the biggest evacuations happend at the desalination plant in Kurnell. Staff was told to leave the Caltex refinery immediately, after it suffered significant damage from the storm, RT reports.
Other suburbs were affected too, including Bondi, where the wind blew roofs off of houses. The Westfield mall in Bondi was left without part of the roof when it collapsed onto the shoppers. The major mall was quickly evacuated because the missing part of the roof caused flooding, and the shopping center is now closed.
According to Sydney airport spokeswoman, the airport is open, but traffic is plagued by delays.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported strong winds moved offshore from Bondi Beach, more storms are expected throughout the day, and a thunderstorm warning is still in effect for parts of Sydney and New South Wales.