An SES volunteer collapsed and died while attending a job in the Illawarra, and another person died in a crash at Thornleigh

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A second person has died during the Sydney storms which have lashed the city and surrounding regions on Wednesday, delivering a month’s worth of rain in two hours.

On Wednesday afternoon a State Emergency Services volunteer collapsed and died while attending a job in the Illawarra.

“This is a tragic event and my deepest sympathies are with the man’s family and friends,” minister for emergency services Troy Grant said in a statement.

“My thoughts and prayers are also with the broader emergency services community,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday another person died in a two-car collision in Thornleigh.

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Ambulance paramedics were called to a two-car accident in heavy rain at Thornleigh on the city’s upper north shore at about 9am on Wednesday.

A male passenger in one of the vehicles died at the scene.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Council workers clear a drain on Railway Terrace in Lewisham during wild weather in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPA

The drivers of the vehicles, also both male, were taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition. Both will undergo mandatory blood and urine tests.

One police officer also broke her leg when a tree fell on her police car as she and her partner were at North Ryde where drivers had unsuccessfully tried to get through a flooded road about 6.45am.

Meanwhile at least a dozen people have been rescued, a supermarket’s walls burst with water and almost 100 flights were cancelled as heavy rain caused flash flooding across Sydney.

James Lemon (@jameslemon) Rain is pouring out of the walls at Woolworths Town Hall. #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/XirhFmZ01i

The city copped more than a month’s worth of rain in less than two hours on Wednesday morning as a series of severe thunderstorms hit the coast between Newcastle and Wollongong.

The downpour coincided with peak hour, causing chaos across Sydney. The assistant police commissioner Michael Corboy called the conditions “some of the worst I’ve ever seen”.

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NSW Ambulance acting superintendent Steve Vaughan said paramedics attended four times the normal amount of car crashes on Wednesday.

“Everyone has somewhere to be but if there is floodwater across the road, please stay out of it,” he told reporters.

Adam Marsters (@AdamMarsters) Laughs from commuters as a worker with a broom makes an okay effort at sweeping away water lapping at the front gate of homes in Kensington #sydneyweather #SydneyStorm @SkyWeatherAUS pic.twitter.com/yrXHLPdVO9

More than 105mm fell at Observatory Hill in Sydney’s city centre by 9am – eclipsing the November average of 83.8mm. Mosman recorded 118mm to 9am while Chatswood had 105mm, including 66mm within an hour.

West Pennant Hills, in the city’s west, recorded 72.5mm in an hour, while 44mm fell in 30 minutes at Chatswood bowling club.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A wet Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday where play was supposed to start in a four-day match between a Cricket Australia XI and India. Photograph: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Shoalhaven’s Porters Creek dam recorded the state’s highest total so far, copping 152mm to 9am.

Elsewhere, Sydney airport was reduced to using a single runway as it was hit by strong winds and 39mm of rain. About 90 domestic flights and four international flights were cancelled, with passengers urged to contact their airlines for more details.

The New South Wales state emergency service received more than 500 calls for help on Wednesday morning and rescued 12 people from flood waters, mainly in Sydney’s north.

“In most cases, people have just driven into flood waters, followed other people into flood waters, their cars have stopped and we’ve had to go and help them out,” Greg Murphy told Sydney’s 2GB radio.

Police are urging people take care in the “horrendous weather conditions”.

Edwin Smith (@edwin_smith1) My gf is currently trying to swim to work...



This is near the Fish Markets in Glebe 😲 #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/0fMcGzKhIW

“We can’t stress enough that motorists should never attempt to drive through flood waters or cross flooded causeways,” Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said.

Flooding also forced the cancellation of trains between Sydenham and Campsie and light rail services, while ferries between Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park were cancelled.

Dozens of roads across the city were shut owing to flash flooding.

Leon Paap (@leonpaap) Lewisham station pic.twitter.com/TItvw36IvD

The Woolworths supermarket at at Town Hall was forced to close after water began pouring through the walls and roof.

More than 4,000 properties were without power across the city, mostly in the central business district and the northern suburbs, with lightning strikes and strong winds damaging lines.

A severe thunderstorm warning remained current for the Sydney metro region and parts of the Hunter, Illawarra, south coast and central tablelands.

The heavy rain wasn’t expected to ease until early Wednesday evening but damaging winds could hang around until Thursday.