A Sydney train station has been left flooded as severe weather lashes Australia’s east coast forcing the city’s popular Vivid Festival to cancel.
Trains through Lewisham Station, in the city’s inner west, were stopped for more than an hour on Saturday afternoon as heavy rain left underground platforms completely submerged in water.
Commuters were seen walking barefoot out of the station carrying baskets full of clothes while firefighters were called to the scene.
Meanwhile, the city’s Vivid light festival was cancelled on Saturday night.
‘Due to the severe weather, tonight’s Vivid Light Walk, Tumbalong Nights at Tumbalong Park, the Vivid Fire Kitchen at The Goods Line and the Lightscape experience at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is cancelled,’ the event wrote to X.
‘Other Vivid Sydney activities including Music, Food and Ideas events will continue as planned.’
In Moore Park, in Sydney’s east, SES teams had to be called in to steer cars through flooded roads.
Little Bay, in the city’s southeast, copped 76mm of rain since 9am on Saturday, while Cronulla was drenched with 92mm.
Sydney’s Lewisham train station was shut down for more than an hour on Saturday as heavy rainfall drenched the city
Commuters were seen walking barefoot out of the station carrying baskets full of clothes while firefighters were called to the scene
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a 5,000km cloud band will continue its journey east in the coming days and is set to have brought rain to 90 per cent of the country by Sunday
The Marrickville Golf Club received 65mm while 59mm of rain fell in North Ryde since Saturday morning.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for metropolitan Sydney just before 8pm on Saturday.
‘A developing low pressure system offshore is combining with an upper trough to create moist and unstable conditions along parts of the Sydney Coast. Heavy rainfall is most likely near the coast,’ the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
‘Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours.’
More rain is on the horizon in Sydney for Sunday with up to 20mm forecast.
It comes as a 5,000 kilometre band of rain passes over Australia’s east coast, bringing torrential rain and damaging winds.
The cloud band has passed over every state and territory this week, delivering more than 100mm of rain on Thursday and Friday morning alone.
A cyclist is seen riding through flooded roads in Moore Park, in Sydney’s east
Roads were flooded near the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney’s Moore Park on Saturday
Cars were seen ploughing through flooded roads in Sydney on Saturday
A huge downpour of rain has hammered most of Sydney on Saturday
NSW, the ACT, inland Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory were hit worst while another low pressure system hammered Tasmania with showers, damaging winds, thunderstorms and even snow.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts the cloud band will continue its journey east over the coming days and is set to bring rain to 90 per cent of the country by Sunday.
‘On Saturday, it will continue to track eastwards into southeastern parts of Queensland with patchy rain and showers continuing in eastern parts of NSW,’ Senior Meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
‘On Saturday night that low develops off the coast of NSW and as we move into Sunday it starts to track eastwards and really wrapping moist air into the coast there.’
The cloud band passed over every state and territory delivering more than 100mm of rain on Thursday and Friday morning alone
SES teams were called to Moore Park where water on the road reached car’s windscreens in order to direct traffic
Ms Scully warned it would be ‘another wet weekend ahead for eastern parts of NSW’, but couldn’t say exactly where the worst of the weather would be.
‘The heaviest rain and strongest winds are high dependent on the position, movement and proximity of the low to the coast,’ she said.
‘If the low remains slightly offshore then the coastal impacts will be limited during the period, however if it is expected to move closer to the coast the forecast may be upgraded to mention an East coast low.
‘The low is expected to move south towards eastern Vic and the east coast of Tasmania early next week.’
Warragamba Dam in the city’s west is currently at 98 per cent capacity and is expected to overflow in the coming days.
There are no current flood alerts but a SES spokesperson confirmed that units were standing by.
Vivid Festival organisers said that the majority of its events were cancelled because ‘public safety is Vivid’s top priority’
Western Australia has also been copping severe weather.
A warning for heavy rainfall and damaging destructive winds has been issued along the Central West to the South West coast. A cold front is set to bring severe weather to the West coast late on Saturday.
The BOM is warning that the heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding along the South West district from late afternoon, with an expected 50 to 70mm of rainfall.
Damaging winds between 60 to 70km/h are possible along the South West district and is expected to spread to the Lower West and the Central West districts by Saturday afternoon.
The BOM is also warning residents of destructive winds peaking at 125km/h from late Saturday to early Sunday, which could cause significant damages to homes and properties.
Locations that could be affected are Bunbury, Busselton, Geraldton, Kalbarri, Mandurah, Manjimup, Margaret River and Perth.
In Tasmania, a minor flood warning at Corra Linn has been issued as a total rainfall of 20-70mm was recorded across the North Esk River within the last 24 hours.
The river at Corra Linn is currently at 1.95 meters and rising, resting just below the minor flood level.
Meanwhile in Victoria, a minor flood warning has been issued for the Seven Creeks.
Up north in Queensland, the marine wind warning for the Gold Coast waters is still in place, with a strong wind warning for South East Gulf of Carpentaria and North East Gulf of Carpentaria in place for Sunday.
