SES volunteers work to repair a roof in Ulladulla. Photo: SES.
The South Coast community of Ulladulla has begun the cleanup today after a small tornado hit the centre of town on Saturday, 3 October.
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded a maximum wind gust of 98 km/h in Ulladulla but a tornado can produce much stronger, highly localised winds than would have registered at the weather station.
Jack Ireland was travelling through from Adelaide to Sydney and randomly stopped in Ulladulla, capturing some of the mayhem on his phone.
“We were just having a peaceful coffee then out of nowhere this storm rolls in,” he said.
The really intense part appears to have lasted only a few minutes, but was extremely violent. One café owner described everything being swept away in about 30 seconds and there were reports of boats in the harbour being lifted from their moorings.
There was damage to roofs, roof tiles and skylights, as well as numerous fallen trees and powerlines.
The SES had received 34 calls for assistance in the Ulladulla area, with more expected as people assessed damage.
“Please be patient with us,” a spokesperson said yesterday.
“Thank you to our fellow units who answered the call to help – today Nowra and Batemans Bay, tomorrow St Georges Basin and Sutton. We are expecting better weather tomorrow and completion of remaining tasks.”
The tornado wasn’t an isolated weather event. The broader system produced damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall across NSW, with severe thunderstorm warnings extending into the Illawarra, Sydney and other parts of the state.
