South Coast NSW inundated with over 200mm of rain as storm peaks
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
14 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Wamberal residents left furious over evacuation
Homeowners on the NSW Central Coast who have been forced to evacuate have slammed preparations for the current 'bomb cyclone' as a 'joke', with one resident calling NSW Premier Chris Minns a 'coward'. Evacuation orders were issued on Tuesday for parts of Wamberal and The Entrance North due to coastal erosion and major swells, forcing dozens of residents to flee their homes. Many of those evacuated were residents of multi-million-dollar homes at Wamberal Beach, which are at risk of collapse due to coastal erosion. Extraordinary photos taken by show many of the waterfront mansions close to being washed away, with frontyards swallowed up by sand as huge swell erodes the coastline. Chris Rogers, who is a homeowner and head of the Wamberal Protection Association, said despite weeks of warning about the storm system, the council only decided to do preventive works on Tuesday. 'The whole process, the way it has been managed is diabolical. We've so far been luck in this weather event, but we might not be so lucky next time,' he said. 'We are hoping to signify to them that they need a more permanent solution.' Both the homeowners and council have been locked in a debate for years on how to best manage the coastal erosion. Despite homeowners offering to build a seawall with their own money, Mr Rogers, who lives on Pacific Street, said little had been done in recent years. 'Let's stop the merry-go-round. We are now stuck in this constant cycle of evacuation,' he said. 'Online it's all, oh you've got a bunch of rich pricks that own the houses. But there is actually people who have who have been here their whole lives. 'If you think that's ok, then maybe you need to go and have a long hard look at yourself. ' The same homes were hit by major swells in July 2020, leaving many on the edge of collapse. Mr Rogers and his family were evacuated when that storm hit for three months, and said it was hardest on the older residents in the street. 'Mrs Baney, who lives up the road, is in her 80s and has lived here for 50 years. She got evacuated last night, think about your grandmother being forcibly from her home in the night,' he said. 'It's a joke. It's un-Australian for people not to care.' Angela da Silva, who also lives on Pacific Street, checked into a hotel on Tuesday night, before returning to her home on Wednesday. She said came back to find her backyard was now a 'triangle instead of a rectangle' after a portion eroded into the ocean. 'This has been happening for many, many years. I think soon all the houses will just have to go. It's mother nature,' Ms De Silva said. In April, Chris Minns met with Wamberal residents over their concerns of the coastal erosion. Mr Minns is opposed to a seawall, however, vowed in the meeting to find a solution. Mr Rogers said no action has been taken by the NSW Premier since. 'If you look a guy in the eye and say you are going to do something and then you don't do it … that's called being a coward,' he said. Asked about the issue on Wednesday, Mr Minns said it was not something you could 'just click your fingers and fix'. 'There's a reason no one did anything about this for 10 years, and that is that community has been under threat from coastal erosion for a long time,' Mr Minns said. 'A permanent fix like a sea wall could do more damage than good, and I've resisted it, not because I'm trying to save money or drag our feet, but because I think it would do more damage than it would save.' In a statement, Central Coast Council said it was working with the NSW Government to find a long-term solution, labelling the situation at Wamberal 'very complex'. 'Council undertook emergency repair works - after receiving instruction from the Local Emergency Operations Controller on Monday afternoon - on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week at Wamberal beach, including sand nourishment and the placement of rock bags,' the statement. 'This was in preparation of the expected weather event. Residents have been kept informed of the authorised works, which Council acknowledges are a short-term emergency solution.' Evacuations also hit The Entrance North There were similar scenes at the Entrance North on Wednesday as homes along Hutton Road were battered with large swells. One home on the street lost a large tree in their backyard as the coastline eroded overnight. Despite layers of rocks being placed along the coastline over the years, residents on the street said they are still losing land each time there is a big storm. 'Don't even get me started. The council just doesn't want to hear about it,' one neighbour said. NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said on Wednesday morning that weather will likely become more severe heading into Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned rainfall of up to 200mm is expected throughout the weather system with damaging winds, huge surf and erosion set to impact millions of residents in NSW.
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Tom Saunders discussing the weather
ABC Meteorologist Tom Saunders on the 7PM NSW discussing the weather conditions coming from a low-pressure low on 2 July.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Anger on Central Coast as beach erosion work begins during wild east coast low
New South Wales Central Coast residents who fear their beachfront homes are on the brink of collapse are frustrated that it has taken a severe weather event for emergency work to be carried out. Sand was delivered to Wamberal Beach on Tuesday to help mitigate the impacts of raging seas, but locals have claimed it was quickly washed away. Council workers placed large bags of rocks along the beachfront on Wednesday morning but resident Lisa Kolinac described the lack of preventative action as a type of "slow, consistent torture". "We've had erosion happening every day here for eight weeks, so all of these residents are sitting in their houses overnight wondering what they're going to wake up to in the morning," she said. Dozens of people were told to leave their homes on Tuesday as a precaution. In 2020 Wamberal Beach was hammered by violent swell and some homes partially collapsed. Ms Kolinac said residents formally appealed to the Central Coast Council seven or eight months ago to take steps to arrest the worsening erosion. "We're now just seeing a few rock bags and a bit of sand pushed on the beach," she said. Ms Kolinac also called for an urgent meeting with Premier Chris Minns to discuss the delay in action and expedite a response. Several residents vented their frustration at a media conference held by council representatives on Wednesday. Chief executive David Farmer said placing rocks on the beach was an attempt to address the issue in the short-term. "This is happening due to an emergency situation and this emergency will abate," he said. "What we need to do is have a medium-term and a long-term fix. "[Reconstruction work] is a medium-term fix, but we need to work towards a long-term fix with the government and the land owners so that we're not coming back again and again. "This is an intolerable situation — it is cost on the rate payers, it's obviously stress for the land, for the property owners. It's a very, very difficult situation. Central Coast Mayor Lawrie McKinna acknowledged the situation was frustrating but said the works required state government approval. "This is the first time we've actually been allowed to place rocks on the beach — because its an emergency situation, that's why they're on here now," he said. "We're working with state government to get a solution here. "It's going back and forward and that's where the frustration is coming [from], because it's taking a while." A coastal management plan has been approved for public consultation and it is hoped the government will authorise it by the end of the year. In a statement a NSW government spokesperson told the ABC it a scope of works for protective measures for The Entrance North had been received, but it was waiting for such an outline for Wamberal. Mr Farmer said those plans were "with the residents at the moment" for review and would be submitted to the government once council secured local agreement. The government spokesperson said financial and technical support had been provided to the council in the development of the coastal management program. "These programs identify coastal management issues and actions required to address these issues in a strategic and integrated way," they said. "We used the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act to declare Wamberal and The Entrance North as a reconstruction area so that council could move quickly. "They've sent us the proposed scope of works for The Entrance North and we now eagerly await their proposed scope of works for Wamberal."
