Sydney storms miss most growers in the region
Sue Dodd from Sydney Markets says that it seems to have missed most of the major growing areas.
“As it is today, none of the growers we’ve heard from have been affected. Most of the damage was done south of the airport, which is not a big agricultural area. It tends to be more petrol, oil and stuff like that out there,” she says.
“One grower I spoke to said they were actually watering yesterday, so it seems like the storms missed a lot of the growing areas around Sydney.”
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology had issued warnings of severe storms and tornadoes in the morning of Wednesday 16th December, when only a drizzle of rain was felt in the city. As the day progressed, reports came in of hail the size of cricket balls and a tornado that reached gusts of 200 kilometres an hour (about 124 mph).
Throughout the day, three different storm veins hit Sydney and surrounding areas, tearing off the roofs from houses, felling trees and flooding roads. Several people were hospitalised as a result of the wild weather, and authorities have said it’s lucky there were no more serious injuries.
The area of Kurnell, to the south of Sydney airport appears to be the worst hit, with emergency services reporting over 400 calls and 25 homes that had “extremely significant damage” from the storms and tornado. Fifteen fire crews were sent to the suburb, which was also declared a “disaster zone”.
The emergency services said they had received 400 calls while 25 homes on the Kurnell peninsula have suffered “extremely significant damage”. Fifteen fire crews were in attendance in the suburb.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology currently has no more warnings issued for New South Wales, but has forecast hot conditions for most of Australia over the next three days, with a severe heatwave expected in the southeast through South Australia and Victoria.
For more information
Sue Dodd
Sydney Markets
Tel: +61 438 725 453
Email: sue.dodd@sydneymarkets.com.au
www.sydneymarkets.com.au