Thousands without power in Sydney amid heavy rain, damaging winds

Tens of thousands of people in Australia's New South Wales state were without power on Saturday after a low pressure system brought damaging winds and heavy rain, sparking flood warnings.

Around 28,000 people were without power in Sydney, the state capital and Australia's largest city, and 15,000 had no power in nearby Newcastle city and Hunter region, power company Ausgrid said on its website on Saturday morning.

The state's emergency services agency fielded 2,825 callouts for assistance since Friday, mostly for fallen trees and properties with wind damage, it said on its website.

"It is still a dynamic situation, and I urge people in affected areas to stay up to date with the latest emergency warnings and follow the advice of emergency services," federal emergency management minister Jenny McAllister said in a statement announcing disaster support funding.

Warnings for flooding, damaging winds and heavy rain were current for many parts of the state, the nation's weather forecaster said, adding that winds with gusts up to 100 km/h were likely over alpine areas.

The alerts come after storms this week brought down trees and power lines and left 200,000 people without power in New South Wales, local media reported.

Climate change is causing heavy short-term rainfall events to become more intense in Australia, the country's science agency said last year. The agency also warned of more extreme heat, coastal inundation, drought and fire weather in the bushfire-prone country of around 27 million.

Reuters