Bomb cyclone roars through NSW, leaving 40,000 without power

Dubbed a “bomb cyclone”, a major storm front has caused havoc for tens of thousands of Australians after it tore through large parts of NSW, bringing trees down along the coast and leaving many residents without electricity or internet.

At the time of writing, more than 40,000 homes and businesses across NSW were without power after being lashed by damaging winds and torrential rains* on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

A number of flood warnings and evacuation orders remain in place following wild weather across The Central Coast, South Coast and Greater Sydney. The SES* was called out to more than 2000 calls for help overnight on Tuesday.

The strongest wind gusts recorded were 124km/hr in the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south. Gusts reached 122km/hr at Montague Island on the South Coast and 104km/hr at both Penrith in Western Sydney and at Ulladulla on the South Coast.

The strong winds tore two portable site sheds from the top of a construction site in Sydney’s south and ripped the roof from a property in the Inner West. The roof was in danger of falling onto nearby railway tracks, prompting the transport authority to close the area and evacuate neighbouring homes.

Heavy rain also fell, leading to flooding in several regions, including at Mogo Zoo on the South Coast. Fortunately, there was no major damage at the zoo and no animals were harmed.

A number of schools and childcare centres were closed across the state as a result of the wild weather. Sussex Inlet Public School in the Shoalhaven area was closed on Wednesday due to flooding, along with Central Mangrove Public School in Wisemans Ferry in the Hawkesbury region and Tanja Public School on the state’s Far South Coast. Niangala Public School in the northern tablelands was also closed.

By Wednesday afternoon, there had been seven flood rescues performed in the Shoalhaven region alone.

Approximately 335 properties had been impacted by seven emergency warnings issued on Tuesday night, with door knocks carried out in areas like Burrill Lake, where some homes were flooded above floor level.

“Intense rainfall reached over 200mm in Ulladulla and this is causing creeks, rivers and lakes to rise rapidly,” said NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz.

Senior meteorologist* Gabrielle Woodhouse said rainfall totals of 80 to 120mm fell across the Illawarra in just six hours.

“That kind of rainfall does mean we see very quick and rapid rises in creeks and river systems,” she said.

Flood warnings remained in place for the Hawkesbury-Nepean, Shoalhaven River, and St Georges Basin, with coastal areas facing strong winds and wave heights of up to 12m.

Coastal erosion* led to dozens of homes being evacuated in Entrance North and Wamberal on The Central Coast after a 4m swell threatened beachfront properties.

Woodhouse said the system was expected to gradually ease into Thursday as it shifted east into the Tasman Sea, but said conditions could still change rapidly.

BUT WHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?
Not your average storm, a bomb cyclone forms when a low pressure system* rapidly forms into a powerful storm in 24 hours. The word “bomb” is used to describe the storm’s explosive speed of development.

The weather event starts with a clash of warm and cold air masses over the ocean. This collision, along with the rotation of the Earth, combines to speed up the development of the storm. The storm gets stronger and stronger as it draws in more energy to deliver intense bursts of rain and wind.

A bomb cyclone is different from other weather systems because of its short and sharp bursts of rain and wind, making it unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

HOW TO STAY SAFE
Here are some tips on how to stay safe during an intense weather event like a bomb cyclone.

* Secure loose items – make sure anything outside that could be easily thrown by strong winds, like a trampoline, has been anchored down before the storm starts

* Don’t leave the family car parked under trees – if your parents need to go out, remind them to avoid parking under trees or powerlines if it’s very windy

* Stay away from flood water – Don’t drive, ride or walk through floodwater, it is dirty, dangerous and fast-moving. If it’s flooded – forget it

* If you are trapped by flash flooding – seek safety in the highest available place and ring triple-0 if you need rescue

* Stay away from stormwater drains – these are extremely hazardous during heavy rain and floods. Please make sure you keep well clear from them at all times, they’re bad news for kids

* Keep pets inside – if the weather is wild outside, remember to keep pets inside where you can keep them safe

* Download Hazards Near Me app – this app shows current information about emergency warnings in your local watch zone so you can stay up to date on the latest flood advice

POLL

GLOSSARY

• torrential rains: very heavy rain, often leading to flash flooding
• SES: State Emergency Service, an emergency and rescue service that helps people in times of natural disaster
• Meteorologist: a scientist that studies weather patterns
• coastal erosion: when the shoreline is washed away by big waves
• low pressure system: an area of air where the atmospheric pressure is lower than its surrounding regions. The low pressure area sucks air into it to create equal pressure with its surroundings, which creates wind and stormy weather. Tropical low pressure systems become categorised as tropical cyclones in Australia when the winds around the centre reach 63 km/h, which is classed as being gale force

EXTRA READING
How do cyclones get their names?
Why experts called for first ‘Cat 6’
Australia’s most incredible weather photos

QUICK QUIZ
1. Why is the weather system called a bomb cyclone?
2. What was the highest wind gust recorded?
3. How many properties were without power?
4. Where were people evacuated because of coastal erosion?
5. What are two things you can do to stay safe during a bomb cyclone?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Make it wild
“Wild weather!” Write a description or story that makes your reader see, hear and feel (maybe even smell and taste!) exactly what a really wild storm is like.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Create a diagram that shows how a bomb cyclone weather event develops. Use information from the story to help you.

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Geography, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Wow word recycle
There are plenty of wow words (ambitious pieces of vocabulary) being used in the article. Some are in the glossary, but there might be extra ones from the article that you think are exceptional as well.

Identify all the words in the article that you think are not common words, and particularly good choices for the writer to have chosen.

Select three words you have highlighted to recycle into your own sentences.

If any of the words you identified are not in the glossary, write up your own glossary for them.

Extension
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any base words with more specific synonyms?

Down-level for a younger audience. Find a sentence in the article that is high level. Now rewrite it for a younger audience so they can understand the words without using the glossary.