BREAKING: Trees down, power out as damaging winds lash northern NSW this morning

DAMAGING winds and widespread power outages are impacting northern NSW this morning, as a deepening East Coast Low lashes the region with powerful gusts, heavy rain and hazardous coastal conditions.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a top priority severe weather warning early Thursday for parts of the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands, with west to south-westerly winds averaging 55 to 65 km/h and peak gusts around 100 km/h.

“Winds are expected to ease about the high terrain in the north of the state later during the morning,” the Bureau said.

A separate marine wind warning was issued for the Byron Coast and other exposed coastal waters, with dangerous conditions expected to continue until later today.

As of 4pm Wednesday, more than 3,700 homes and businesses were still without electricity across the North, Mid North and South Coast regions, according to Essential Energy.

Most outages have been caused by trees falling onto powerlines.

“Wild winds and heavy rain have continued to cause damage to the electricity network throughout today… due to the East Coast Low weather system,” a statement said.

Crews restored power to around 7,000 customers yesterday, but conditions remain volatile and the number of outages is likely to fluctuate.

The worst affected areas include communities between Murwillumbah and Yamba.

Essential Energy urged residents to stay at least eight metres away from fallen powerlines and to always assume they are live.

Hazards can be reported to 13 20 80.

In Byron Shire, the strong winds brought down at least 30 trees on Thursday, including one of the beloved Cottonwood Trees at Railway Park in Byron Bay.

Council staff have been responding overnight, but warned the clean-up could take several days.

“We are doing the best we can,” Byron Shire Council said in a statement.

“Please be patient and careful out there as we will not get to everything overnight. It will likely take us several days.”

Residents can report emergencies to the after-hours line on 02 6622 7022, or non-urgent damage via the council website or by calling 02 6626 7000 during business hours.

Updated restoration times are available via the Essential Energy outages page, but are subject to change as weather impacts continue.

The NSW State Emergency Service is advising people to secure loose items, move vehicles away from trees, and monitor local conditions.

For emergency help during storms or floods, call the SES on 132 500.

The Bureau is expected to release its next weather update by 11am Thursday.