NSW weather: Another king tide, large swell hits coast, insurance bill at $38m

Updated June 06, 2016 22:24:07

Photo: Mcivers Baths in Coogee during huge swell as an east coast low tracks the NSW east coast. (Twitter: Lisa Garnham)

Emergency services say it is too early to assess the damage after king tides peaked along the New South Wales east coast, which have already been battered by extreme weather that has claimed the lives of three people.

In a statement early on Monday evening, the Bureau of Meteorology said a low pressure system was losing strength as it moved off the coast, but a large swell and king tides would raise the risk of flooding, beach erosion and coastal inundation in all coastal areas south of Port Macquarie.

For central areas of the coast, the threat of erosion was unlikely to be as high as Sunday night's event, as the wave heights would be lower, the bureau said.

The low pressure system brought a fierce storm which raged along much of Australia's east coast, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and destructive surf.

Flood warnings remain in place for 23 rivers and evacuations orders are current for parts of Lismore in the state's north, and in parts of Chipping Norton and Milperra in Sydney.

A man's body was found in his car at Leppington in south-western Sydney, while a 65-year-old man's body was found in a car in floodwaters at Bowral in the Southern Highland.

Photo: Coogee Beach in Sydney's east during a king tide. (Supplied: Maria Cross)

The search for a man believed to be missing off Sydney's Bondi Beach has been called off for the night.

Earlier in Canberra, the body of another man was recovered from a swollen river after he became trapped in his car and was swept away by floodwaters on Sunday night.

The Insurance Council of Australia has declared an "insurance catastrophe" and said it had received more than 11,000 claims, with estimated insured losses of $38 million.

It is expected that figure will keep rising as the storms push through Tasmania.

Photo: Narrabeen residents have been allowed to return home after an evacuation order. (Supplied: Adrian Thrisk)

Five metre waves lash the coast

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) is keeping a close watch on Collaroy and Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches which was ravaged by the enormous swell on Sunday night, into Monday morning.

"What we're seeing is around five-metre waves lashing the coast and so we're just keeping a close eye on those hot spots we had last night," Andrew Richards from the SES said.

"We saw a little bit of damage there on the northern beaches of Sydney yesterday, we're just hoping it doesn't get worse as a result of what we're likely to experience this evening."

Mr Richards said crews would wait for daylight to assess the damage.

Residents who were evacuated from their Narrabeen properties were allowed to return home after being ordered to leave on Sunday night, police said.

But an evacuation order remains in place for residents who were ordered to leave their homes on Pittwater Road at Collaroy.

Photo: Smashed coastal walkway in Manly. (Supplied: James Logie)

The Hawkesbury-Nepean region and areas around the St Georges Basin were also areas the SES were concerned about as they had been inundated with water over the past two days.

SES spokeswoman Stephanie Sullivan said flood warnings were in place for areas around St Georges Basin which was hit with flooding last August that inundated 80 homes.

"We've had some flood warnings on the St Georges Basin, so for the SES we're keeping a close eye on areas around the Sussex Inlet where we will potentially see some minor flooding this evening, again in connection to the king tides."

'Anxious wait to see what tides bring tonight'

Fire crews worked to secure the first floor of the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club in Sydney's east after it suffered extensive damage after being pummelled by the huge swell on Sunday night.

Photo: A wall at Coogee's surf club was smashed in by the monster swell. (Twitter: Pat Garcia)

The eastern wall caved in and gym equipment was thrown against a wall.

Club president Mark Doepel said it was the greatest challenge to face the club since it was established in 1907.

"The NSW Fire and Rescue has been down there today, they shored up the club, propped it up and braced it," he said.

"The structural engineers have announced that the club is looking OK so that's great, just an anxious wait as we see what the weather and more particularly the tide brings tonight."

The BoM said areas that might be affected by the king tide and heavy surf would be Newcastle, Gosford, Batemans Bay, Eden, Moruya Heads, Sydney, Wollongong, Port Macquarie, Taree, Old Bar, Forster and Seal Rocks.

Topics: weather, storm-event, storm-disaster, disasters-and-accidents, sydney-2000, narrabeen-2101, collaroy-2097, sussex-inlet-2540, nsw

First posted June 06, 2016 19:08:41