NSW State Emergency Service (SES) members have responded to thousands of incidents since severe storms hit various areas of NSW including the Riverina last week.
Narrandera escaped unscathed.
The significant thunderstorms impacted the Riverina and southern NSW on Wednesday afternoon, causing widespread damage. Later in the evening, storms downed trees and powerlines and impacted homes in Sydney, the Illawarra and Newcastle/Hunter region.
NSW SES Narrandera Unit was deployed to assist NSW SES Wagga Wagga Unit with some chainsaw and storm incidents last week along with the NSW SES Griffith Unit.
NSW SES Commissioner Mike Wassing ASFM said on Sunday that more than 900 members had been actively working through incidents across the state due to the storms and would continue to respond alongside their communities.
“We’ve had significant damage recorded in western NSW, the Riverina and the Hunter regions due to the storms. Our members in the Maitland area are working through more than 500 incidents that remain outstanding,” Commissioner Wassing said.
Commissioner Wassing urged people to stay across the latest warnings and information by downloading the Hazards Near Me app.
“We know families are still enjoying school holidays, but if you do find yourself camping alongside a river or creek, understand your risk and move to higher ground if required.”
Widespread damage was reported right across Wagga as 106km/h wind gusts flattened road signs, uprooted trees and downed powerlines around the city.
More than 16,000 homes and businesses were without power, while emergency water restrictions were implemented in Junee and Temora after power was cut to the Oura Water Treatment Plant. Partial power was restored on Thursday and Goldenfields Water County Council later advised customers that emergency water restrictions had been lifted including customers on the Oura Water Supply Scheme.
Wild winds brought down trees and crushed several cars at Wagga’s CSU Campus. Several people were injured, trees uprooted, cars crushed and thousands left without power in Wagga Wagga after a violent thunderstorm swept north through the Riverina on Wednesday afternoon when the storm hit the city.
The supercell thunderstorm hit Wagga just after 2 pm lashing the city with heavy rain, hail, lightning and extreme winds that exceeded 100 km/h.
While the storm lasted just a few minutes, it wreaked havoc across the city, uprooting trees, bringing down branches, blocking streets and causing power interruptions to thousands of homes.
At Bomen to the city’s north, four men suffered injuries when an accommodation donger was turned over by the wind. They were assessed by paramedics before being taken to Wagga Base Hospital.
As the gale-force winds ripped through the industrial estate, shipping containers stacked alongside the rail corridor were toppled and strewn across the intermodal freight hub.
In North Wagga, powerlines were brought down on Hampden Avenue.
Soon after the storm passed through, shop owners emerged to begin cleaning up on Baylis Street, where the CBD was littered with broken branches and scattered leaves.
According to the NSW Rural Fire Service, several major roads were closed while debris was cleared including the Sturt Highway at Gumly Gumly, the Olympic Highway at Wallace Town and the Hume Highway at Tarcutta.
Text messages from energy companies advised that more than 4000 homes in Wagga were left without power and telecommunications service providers warned of interruptions.
The storms were part of an upper-level pool of cold air crossing southeastern Australia and interacting with a cold front, low-pressure trough and moisture-laden air creating ideal conditions for dangerous thunderstorms.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 23 January 2025.