10 hours ago
NSW train passengers told to avoid non-essential travel as storm disrupts network
There could be severe disruption and chaos on New South Wales’s rail network this morning after Transport NSW advised passengers last night that they “should avoid non-essential travel across the rail network” – the warning was updated at 6.03am.
It said the weather had damaged parts of the network’s infrastructure and some services have been cancelled because fallen trees have blocked tracks.
Train and bus users were urged to:
Plan your trip before leaving home
Check alerts here for real-time travel information.
Be careful of slippery conditions when travelling through stops and stations.
Listen to service announcements at stations
Leave plenty of extra travel time if you are using the public transport network.
Driving may not be much better either, with Transport NSW advising that motorists across eastern parts of the state NSW should “prepare for delays and disruptions, as extreme weather is set to lash the region today and into the coming days”.
Drivers are advised to:
Use the Live Traffic NSW app or livetraffic.com for up-to-date road conditions before setting off.
Don’t drive, walk or cycle through flood waters.
Watch out for storm debris on the road.
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Rafqa Touma
Thank you Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning. I’ll be keeping you updated with the day’s news from here – let’s go.
Wave warnings for NSW coast
Senior meteorologist from the BoM Dean Narramore told ABC TV earlier that large surf is likely off the NSW coast today.
There’s actually multiple lows out in the Tasman Sea right now. We’re likely to see big seas and swell, as well. Coastal hazard warnings for dangerous and very high swell and seas [are] likely to lead to coastal erosion for areas from Newcastle.
He also warned there would be “another surge of wind and rain into southern parts of NSW: Illawarra, south coast, and inland areas this afternoon and this evening”.
So we could see the winds and rain continue this morning, ease a bit middle of the day, and then maybe another surge moving up the coast later today into tonight.
But finally, all of this will start shifting away on Thursday.
Foreign affairs minister makes case for tariff reprieve in Washington
Penny Wong met with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Wednesday morning, Australian time, as negotiations continue in Australia’s hope of removing the economic measures.
The face-to-face discussions took place in Washington on the sidelines of a meeting of Quad foreign ministers, AAP reports, which also includes Wong’s counterparts from India and Japan.
Wong told Rubio it was unfortunate that they were meeting against a backdrop of conflict in the world.
“So it has never been more important for us to harness our collective strength for peace, stability, for prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” she said.
Rubio responded that the US and Australia had a “great partnership”, and while it was important to discuss ideas and concepts, the next steps were “concrete action”.
It’s the second time in six months that foreign ministers from the Quad nations have met for in-person talks, with the grouping also holding formal discussions in Washington in the days following US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Defence, trade and stability in the Indo-Pacific have been high on the agenda during the discussions.
Calls for assistance as wild NSW weather continues
NSW SES crews have responded to more than 2,320 incidents since the start of the bad weather, the SES said early today as the coastal low shifted southwards from Newcastle to Sydney, the Illawarra and the south coast.
Flood rescue crews responded to a surge in calls for help around Shoalhaven overnight as flash flooding swept through the area, but most incidents involved fallen trees, powerlines and damaged roofs, the SES said.
As much as 150mm of rain fell overnight in some places, with more than 200mm at Ulladulla.
Flood warnings along NSW south coast
The NSW SES advised people at Burrill Lake, near Ulladulla, to take shelter early this morning, as it’s too late for them to move.
About 200 properties were affected by flooding as of 5am today, the SES said, with water rising over floors.
Residents at Sanctuary Point, south of Nowra were told a few hours ago to move to higher ground.
You can find the latest updates from the SES here.
Damaging winds and heavy rainfall batters coastal NSW
The NSW Bureau of Meteorology issued a weather update at 4.08am in which it said the “vigorous coastal low-pressure system” has moved from off the coast of Sydney to offshore from the northern Illawarra, bringing damaging winds and heavy rainfall along the coastline and elevated parts of the state.
It is expected to gradually tracknorth-eastwards into the Tasman Sea during today.
These are the details:
Heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding continues in the south-east of NSW, south of Nowra, extending southwards towards Bega and inland to Braidwood. Six-hourly rainfall totals of between 50 to 80mm are likely, it said, with isolated totals up to 120mm. Rain rates are forecast to ease during this morning.
Damaging south to south-westerly winds averaging 60 to 70km/h with peak gusts of around 110km/h are possible along coastal parts from the south coast to the mid-north coast, including eastern Sydney metropolitan area. Damaging south to south-westerly wind gusts around 90km/h are possible for parts of the Snowy Mountains and southern ACT.
Strong to damaging west to south-westerly winds averaging 55 to 65km/h with peak gusts of around 100km/h are likely to develop around parts of the northern tablelands, the mid-north coast hinterland and about the Border Ranges from early this morning, and are expected to continue through the day.
Locations which may be affected include Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Armidale, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Tenterfield, Katoomba, Moruya Heads and Penrith.
Significant amounts of rainfall included
80.5mm was recorded at Oranmeir in the 6 hours to 2:05 am.
108mm was recorded at Nowra in the 6 hours to 12:02 am.
133mm was recorded at Morton in the 6 hours to 11:43 pm.
116mm was recorded at Vincentia in the 6 hours to 9:37 pm.
The impact of the storm would ease during tomorrow, it said, but pulses of increased winds and rainfall associated with this system could continue to impact areas of eastern NSW.
If you want to find out which parts of NSW are being hit by rain and how much, look no further than our interactive map.
NSW train passengers told to avoid non-essential travel as storm disrupts network
There could be severe disruption and chaos on New South Wales’s rail network this morning after Transport NSW advised passengers last night that they “should avoid non-essential travel across the rail network” – the warning was updated at 6.03am.
It said the weather had damaged parts of the network’s infrastructure and some services have been cancelled because fallen trees have blocked tracks.
Train and bus users were urged to:
Plan your trip before leaving home
Check alerts here for real-time travel information.
Be careful of slippery conditions when travelling through stops and stations.
Listen to service announcements at stations
Leave plenty of extra travel time if you are using the public transport network.
Driving may not be much better either, with Transport NSW advising that motorists across eastern parts of the state NSW should “prepare for delays and disruptions, as extreme weather is set to lash the region today and into the coming days”.
Drivers are advised to:
Use the Live Traffic NSW app or livetraffic.com for up-to-date road conditions before setting off.
Don’t drive, walk or cycle through flood waters.
Watch out for storm debris on the road.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be my colleague Rafqa Touma to take control.
The wild weather lashing New South Wales continued overnight. The Bureau of Meteorology said early this morning that the storm had moved from off the coast of Sydney to the Illawarra, bringing winds above 125km/h and heavy rain with the risk of flash flooding from Nowra as far south as Bega. Areas as far north as Queensland’s Lockyer Valley are being warned of severe weather, and Central Coast residents were being warned to evacuate late yesterday amid coastal erosion.
There could be severe disruption and chaos on Sydney trains this morning after Transport NSW advised passengers last night to “avoid non-essential travel across the rail network” after the weather downed trees and blocked tracks. It also said drivers should be ready for delays and disruptions to last through the coming days.
The storm is expected to track south before turning back out into the Tasman Sea sometime today.
More details soon.
