Sydney residents are waking up to gauge the damage from a catastrophic hailstorm. The bill for the “catastrophic” hail storm that struck Sydney and other parts of NSW is expected to be more than $20 million with 15,000 people lodging claims so far.
Multiple storm fronts converged on the Hunter Valley, Wollongong and Sydney on Thursday afternoon, prompting a severe weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Tennis ball-sized hailstones smashed into homes and cars in Sydney’s west around 5pm while golf ball-sized stones battered the city’s inner suburbs less than an hour later.
The Insurance Council of Australia declared the incident a catastrophe at 7.30pm, triggering support for affected residents.
“Insurers are standing by to help customers affected by tonight’s hail storm in Sydney,” the council said.
Tens of thousands of homes were left without power and the full scope of the damage is not yet known.
The ICA said on Friday some 15,000 claims worth about $18 million had been lodged as at 6.30pm Thursday and more were expected on Friday.
The council said there had been “extensive damage” to cars and homes from Sydney’s west to Bondi Beach.
Windshields have been smashed, roofs damaged and cars and homes impacted by flash flooding.
The primary thunderstorm which affected the Sydney basin began to ease about 7.45pm.
Endeavour Energy reported 20,000 homes and businesses in its network were without power from the Blue Mountains, through Sydney’s west and up to the Hawkesbury.
Around 200 electrical hazards were left in the wake of the storm after power lines came down.
Sydney’s train network also struggled to cope with the wild weather.
Multiple lines in the city’s inner west, airport precinct and outer suburbs as well as intercity links reported stoppages or delays as lightning struck power supplies and infrastructure.
Social media was awash with photos of hailstones bigger than human palms on the city’s fringes and videos which showed crowds huddled under awnings and city roads littered with icy pellets.
Residents in Berowra on Sydney’s upper north shore reported 8 cm hail stones at around 5pm.
Summer Hill was hit with 4cm hail stones about 4.30pm, and 2cm ball peppered Petersham about 4.35pm.
Workers faced a wet and potentially dangerous commute home, as the storm hanging over the CBD and inner suburbs during peak hour.
