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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinds are expected to ease about the high terrain in the north of the state later during the morning,\u201d the Bureau said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Most outages have been caused by trees falling onto powerlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWild winds and heavy rain have continued to cause damage to the electricity network throughout today\u2026 due to the East Coast Low weather system,\u201d a statement said.<\/p>\n
Crews restored power to around 7,000 customers yesterday, but conditions remain volatile and the number of outages is likely to fluctuate.<\/p>\n
The worst affected areas include communities between Murwillumbah and Yamba.<\/p>\n
Essential Energy urged residents to stay at least eight metres away from fallen powerlines and to always assume they are live.<\/p>\n
Hazards can be reported to 13 20 80.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Council staff have been responding overnight, but warned the clean-up could take several days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are doing the best we can,\u201d Byron Shire Council said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease be patient and careful out there as we will not get to everything overnight. It will likely take us several days.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Updated restoration times are available via the Essential Energy outages page, but are subject to change as weather impacts continue.<\/p>\n
The NSW State Emergency Service is advising people to secure loose items, move vehicles away from trees, and monitor local conditions.<\/p>\n
For emergency help during storms or floods, call the SES on 132 500.<\/p>\n
The Bureau is expected to release its next weather update by 11am Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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, […]<\/p>\n