NSW weather: Two dead in floodwaters, search for missing man at Bondi Beach suspended

Updated

Two bodies have been found in floodwaters in New South Wales after extreme weather battered the state, while the search for a man believed missing off Sydney's Bondi Beach has been called off for the night.

Key points: Man's body found in his car in south-west Sydney; another man's body found in floodwaters at Bowral

Search suspended for missing man at Bondi Beach, to resume on Tuesday

Thousands of homes remain without power; storm clean-up could take months

A man's body was found in his car on Anthony Road at Leppington, in south-western Sydney, while a 65-year-old man's body was found in a car in floodwaters at Bowral in the Southern Highlands.

Earlier in Canberra, the body of another man was recovered from a swollen river after he became trapped in his car and was swept away by floodwaters on Sunday night.

A fierce storm has raged along much of Australia's east coast, caused by a low pressure weather system that continues to move south, delivering heavy rains, strong winds and destructive surf.

On Monday afternoon, emergency services were called to the southern end of Bondi Beach following reports a man had been swept off rocks.

"Witnesses have indicated a man was swept off the rocks just south of the Bondi icebergs," said Stephen Leahy from the Westpac Lifesaver helicopter.

"He was in the water a very short period of time before he became submerged. He hasn't been seen since."

Due to fading light, the search was suspended about 5:30pm and will resume at first light on Tuesday morning.

State Emergency Service (SES) crews will continue to monitor flooded coastal area, with king tides forecast again for tonight.

Flood warnings remain in place for a number of rivers and evacuations are still current for Lismore in the state's north, and at Chipping Norton and Woronora in Sydney.

SES crews are on standby at Collaroy in Sydney's north where king tides and swells on Sunday night caused significant beachside damage.

Elsewhere, an office building on the boardwalk of the Coffs Harbour International Marina collapsed after waves crashed over a breakwall.

Two yachts moored at the marina have also sunk, and a Fire and Rescue Services spokesman said booms around one of them were leaking diesel into the water.

In Sydney's eastern suburbs, Coogee's historic surf club suffered extensive damage.

The eastern wall of the club, which has stood since 1907, has collapsed and fire crews are trying to secure the first floor.

"We've had significant damage in our boat shed, we've lost almost all of our lifesaving gear," the club's president, Mark Dopell, said.

Police find two bodies inside cars

Earlier, NSW Police said divers retrieved two bodies from cars, which were washed away in flood waters.

Officers had been notified that a utility had been washed into floodwaters after entering a causeway about 5:00pm on Saturday.

Camden Police started to search for the car, with the assistance of the State Emergency Service (SES), without success.

The search for the man and the car resumed at 6:30am today and he was found at 11:30am.

In a separate incident in Bowral, emergency services were called to Mittagong Creek about 5:30pm yesterday following reports a car was seen in floodwaters with its hazard lights flashing.

Hume Police and the SES conducted a search but could not find the car, but about 8:30am today it was located in Mittagong Creek.

Inside they found the 65-year-old man who has yet to be formally identified.

NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Kyle Stewart said it was a tragedy to see deaths despite constant warnings about the dangers of entering flood waters.

"We simply do not know how either of these two men came to be in the floodwaters. But what we know is that their deaths show just how dangerous floodwaters are," he said.

"What do we have to say to get the message across? Emergency service personnel this morning have had the devastating task of retrieving the bodies of the men.

"Flood waters are deadly – we can't put it any other way."

Deaths highlight ferocity of storm: Premier

NSW Premier Mike Baird, who has toured flood-affected parts of Sydney's northern beaches, said the deaths of two people highlighted the ferocity of the weekend's storm.

"At least two people have been lost and our thoughts go to their family, their friends and their communities," Mr Baird said.

"This storm is continuing down the south coast, in particular there are still huge challenges for those communities, but as we go about business in Sydney, even still floodwaters are still up, there are still very dangerous conditions.

"Like any storm event such as this, all the property damage goes into insignificance when we have lost life. It is an incredible tragedy."

Mr Baird said he would do everything possible to hasten emergency declaration for flood-affected areas across the state.

He said floodwaters would continue to pose major threats for parts of Sydney's west, south-west and the state's far south coast for the next 24 hours.

"I can assure you in terms of providing support we are fast-tracking the emergency service, so the emergency declaration," he said.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said it was too early to tell how high the damage bill would be.

"The Insurance Council of Australia have initially said it's something like $30 million in insurance claims, that will obviously increase as the course of this storm continues in the south coast of NSW," he said.

Homes inundated by floodwaters, low-lying areas evacuated

In the Camden area, two houses have been inundated by floodwaters, as emergency crews continue to watch the Nepean River.

Heavy rain, damaging winds and a king tide hit Sydney at the weekend as a east coast low moved south over the area.

Parts of the south-west, particularly those close to the Georges River were evacuated on Sunday.

Residents of low-lying areas along the river, including Chipping Norton, Milperra and Picton, were evacuated due to flooding and several roads in the area were closed.

In Picton, which is close to Leppington, about 30 businesses were flooded after two metres of water swept through the town last night, coating properties in mud.

The Mayor of Picton, south-west of Sydney, said the area was going to need government assistance to recover from the flooding after water levels reached those of a one-in-100 year flood.

He said there had been extensive damage to businesses, and bridges and roads have washed away.

Residents at Robertson in the Southern Highlands are clearing up the damage after recording the highest rainfall in the state over the weekend, with 618 millimetres of rain falling over the region.

It was the most rain the area has received in a decade.

Local man Brett Noakes was clearing out his possessions this morning after waking up to a foot of water in his bedroom.

"It's pretty much condemned, we've got no power, we're just taking our clothes," Mr Noakes said.

Wingecarribee mayor Larry Whipper said he would be applying for disaster relief funds from the State Government.

Topics: floods, weather, storm-event, leppington-2171, camden-2570, nsw, bowral-2576

First posted