Sydney hit by rare tornado, suffers extensive damage

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued the rare tornado warning as the dangerous storm swept up the coast from Sydney’s south, forcing some international and domestic flights to be diverted to other cities. 

“We really had no warning. The sky just went really black and we had this massive clap of thunder,” said Meredith Sullivan, a 48-year-old worker at an industrial park. “The gusts of winds were just horrific, you could hear the roof starting to lift and debris was starting to fly around. All the cars were pretty much destroyed,” she said. Wind gusts as high as 213 kmh were recorded there.

“There is obvious evidence that we have had a tornado go through Cronulla,” said BOM meteorologist Alan Sharp. Social media was swamped by pictures of the huge, dark storm as it engulfed the harbour city, plunging a 25 degree Celsius summer’s day into darkness.

Some 6,000 homes were reportedly without power and rescue services received more than 200 calls for help in the city. Australia is experiencing an El Nino effect, a phenomenon associated with extreme weather changes.