Police confirm one body was found in the ACT and two in NSW, with another person believed missing south-west of Sydney and two more in Tasmania. Follow all the developments
6.30am BST
Tasmania police minister Rene Hidding has urged people to stay away from the water.
Can I call on all Tasmanians to be absolutely responsible in the coming days. There is no circumstances where anybody should risk their lives.
Don’t try to take nature on – it leads to tragedy. We already have grave fears for two of our fellow citizens and we pray for them.
6.29am BST
The Tamar River in Tasmania has been smashed by the storms.
Tamar River at Home Point terminal #TasFloods pic.twitter.com/QjthOGabaP
6.13am BST
NSW police are frustrated that people are still entering the water despite numerous warning still in place not to take on floodwaters or beaches.
They have just issued a statement urging people to be sensible. It comes after police and emergency crews faced the horrific task of recovering the bodies of two men from waterways at Leppington and Mittagong this morning. Police say:
NSW police and the State Emergency Service are at a loss as to what more can be said and done to get the message across about the dangers of entering flood waters. Police and emergency services this morning recovered the bodies of two men from waterways at Leppington and Mittagong.
Acting assistant commissioner Kyle Stewart said despite the constant warnings about the dangers of entering flood areas we now have two men who have died.
Police and rescue crews are searching Bondi beach after reports a person was swept off rocks @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/S83Jbm6kyw
6.01am BST
Back in NSW, AAP reports that surf lifesavers and police are attempting to rescue a person swept away by wild waves at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The beach has been closed to swimmers and surfers due to the wild weather.
6.00am BST
The Mercury is reporting that one of the two people missing in Tasmanian floodwaters is an 81-year-old man, who was swept into the rising Ouse River from his backyard:
Tasmania Police Sergeant Adrian Leary said the elderly man was swept away at around 8am by a flash flood after feeding his sheep.
The property is alongside the Ouse River and part of the backyard is under water. “We believe initially he had gone out to check some stock which were nearby his house on a small rise,” Sgt Leary said
5.51am BST
Some more pics of the destruction currently unfolding in Tassie:
What is left of our access rd. Pumping Station Rd Forth TAS #TasFloods #SES @Spoonyman @Heart1073 @theadvocatetas pic.twitter.com/uFYGzFTBBv
#Tasfloods Avoid all contact with floodwaters where possible as they may be contaminated by sewage and animal waste #politas
The power of Tassie rivers on display today with dramatic pics in teh state's North https://t.co/JVVeM8axO2 #TasFloods #thisistassie
Boats in trouble in big seas at Bicheno #TasFloods pic.twitter.com/hRpNb46M7t
Pumping Station Rd Forth Valley #TasFloods @Spoonyman @abcnewsTas @theadvocatetas @ExaminerOnline pic.twitter.com/wiTex1pWZY
5.37am BST
Crazy #drone footage of the erosion at Collaroy in Sydney's north from UNSW's Water Research Lab #eastcoastlow https://t.co/eivWbqZMDO
5.30am BST
Coogee surf club in NSW is on the brink of collapse. Crews are working hard to prevent that.
According to AAP, dangerous swells have washed an entire section of the club, on Sydney’s eastern beaches, into the ocean:
Walls in the club’s weights room have been knocked down by the swell, which continues to buffet the coast, leaving the room exposed to the wild conditions.
Bars on the windows have been bent backwards and large pieces of gym and weight equipment have also been thrown across the room.
COOGEE | UPDATE: #FRNSW urban search & rescue team is shoring up bottom floor of surf club. Operations are expected to take some time.
Sydney wild weather: Coogee SLSC ‘like a bomb site’ https://t.co/fNPImriRXS
Coogee post #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/glGx9zBdiz
5.19am BST
As the damaging weather unleashes on Tasmania, NSW premier Mike Baird is inspecting the devastation the storm left in its wake in his state.
But the extensive damage to beaches and property “goes into insignificance” given three men had lost their lives, he said. From AAP:
We come with a heavy heart,” Baird said at Collaroy beach, where several million-dollar plus homes were hanging precariously over the sand after being smashed by eight metre waves that washed away 10 to 15 metres of the coastline.
“It was a storm so ferocious, it took life from us.”
While most of us spent today trying to keep dry & warm, our SES spent today coming to the rescue. Heartfelt thanks. pic.twitter.com/BWnsefFzr8
5.13am BST
To Tasmania, where the Emu River in Burnie and the North Esk River in Launceston have broken their banks. There are now six catchments where major flood warnings apply in the state. Two people have been reported missing.
Rivers bursting banks in #Tasmania - Emu River, Burnie #BigWetTas pic.twitter.com/aH1Y8Q5Ivp
North Esk River at St Leonards #Launceston #flood #abcnort @abcnorthtas pic.twitter.com/t4g5NUMRP8
River Derwent joins 5 other TAS catchments with MAJOR flood warnings. Check here: https://t.co/MdsE15q3s7 #BigWetTas pic.twitter.com/uWpVUuzyeq
#TAS Latest major flood warning for North Esk River. Highest recorded flooding in catchment https://t.co/7iNV0A1Dag pic.twitter.com/xD0qFde5AI
5.06am BST
At Woolgoolga, north of Coffs Harbour, about 20% of banana crops have been destroyed, AAP reports.
“Some farmers are reporting that up to 50% of their bananas have been wiped away,” NSW Farmers spokesman Michael Burt said on Monday.
5.05am BST
This is Elliott, a very wet wombat, aka a “mudbat”.
The photo was taken by Phil Melzer – who along with his partner, Donna Stepan – runs the Sleepy Burrows sanctuary for orphaned or at-risk wombats in New South Wales.
Elliott the wombat turns mudbat at Sleepy Burrows after devastating rains on the southern tablelands of NSW wreck sanctuary infrastructure and flood burrows. Cynthia holding Elliott. Photo: Phil Melzer
Sent via GuardianWitness
By Cynthia Coppock
6 June 2016, 11:06
5.02am BST
Here’s the most recent news take from AAP.
“The flood waters yesterday ... were extremely strong, savage, with a lot of debris, large logs coming down the river,” ACT police sergeant Harry Hains told reporters in Canberra. “The force was enough to flip a two-tonne ute.”
Police and emergency workers again warned people not to drive through flood waters for any reason.
Related: Eastern Australia storms: three dead and more missing as wild weather hits coast
4.59am BST
Tasmania has been hit particularly hard by the weather. There’s been significant rainfall across the northwest, north and northeast of the state and that’s led to flooding. Four evacuation centres are currently open in the north of the state – in Launceston, Deloraine, East Devonport, Wynyard – for people who have been displaced by floods.
State emergency services and other authorities held a briefing, broadcast on Facebook Live by Launceston’s Examiner Newspaper, at 1:30pm. A spokesperson called on all Tasmanians to be “absolutely responsible in the coming days” and to stay away from floodwaters:
4.50am BST
The 24 hours to 9am in Canberra comprised the wettest June day on record.
65.2mm in 24 hours to 9am making wettest June day on record in #Canberra. Previously 54.6mm. https://t.co/0yC0ewNpTy pic.twitter.com/ss3X8YVaMX
4.46am BST
Labor leader Bill Shorten has addressed the storms on Twitter.
These storms have done terrible damage, devastating lives have now been lost. Our love to their families, our thanks to emergency services.
Looks like the sun didn't forget us after all. #melbourne #melbweather pic.twitter.com/5ds6snckO1
4.42am BST
Banana, sugarcane and oyster farmers in northern NSW are counting the cost after their crops were slammed by heavy storms, AAP reports.
Swathes of sugarcane crops are still underwater after floods ravaged the region over the weekend, while wild winds battered banana plantations at Coffs Harbour, said NSW Farmers spokesman Michael Burt.
4.36am BST
AAP reports that Sydney’s eastern beaches are still being slammed by dangerously strong waves and high tides, with Coogee Surf Club now at risk of collapse. Helicopters and drones have been used to assess the damage, while two NSW Fire and Rescue crews arrived on the scene just after 11am.
Coogee Surf club's wall smashed in by the storm last night pic.twitter.com/bHIpigf29k
SES crews have arrived at Coogee... Plenty of damage to the beach front and surf club #MRNews #coogee pic.twitter.com/KMezIXpUFm
Coogee surf club gym this morning... Heartbroken at the damage #saveourclub #SydneyStorm @9NewsAUS @smh pic.twitter.com/UNr11OmC8j
.Extensive damage to @coogeeslsc @abcnews @abcnewsSydney @702sydney pic.twitter.com/p43VJuid2o
4.24am BST
In NSW, ABC Central West is reporting some road closures in the region. Many don’t apply to the average car but it goes to show how long the clean-up from the storm can reasonably be expected to go on for.
All unsealed roads within Lachlan Shire, MR347 Dandaloo Road between Albert and Bogan River, the Bland Shire Council area and Narromine Shire are closed to vehicles over three tonnes until 10am Wednesday, when their condition will be reviewed.
4.06am BST
Collaroy beach, before and after the Sydney storm:
4.00am BST
The army has been called into Latrobe, Tasmania, where there’s widespread flooding. An elderly man was rescued from his home there by helicopter earlier this morning, but his wife is one of the two people still missing in the state.
The army has been sent to Latrobe to rescue residents from their homes. pic.twitter.com/qljzyfI2Rm
Westpac Rescue Helicopter also evacuating stranded residents in Latrobe, where it is now raining. pic.twitter.com/ptOXbT9Iiy
Mersey Main Road, Latrobe. Water is still rising. pic.twitter.com/QJxSAYpF0Y
Shipping containers have been swept down the Emu River at Wivenhoe. pic.twitter.com/TBmusF4QuI
The banks of the Emu River have collapsed at Wivenhoe. Several businesses flooded. pic.twitter.com/SkIaQ1haJn
3.53am BST
Power outages were reported in many areas of the east coast yesterday, with Ausgrid advising yesterday evening that 21,000 homes were without electricity and that crews would be working through the night to restore services.
Still no power so juicing up in the apt common areas. Desperate times, desperate measures #SydneyStorm @harukinights pic.twitter.com/mVHO7Q1k8R
Power has been restored to more than 18,000 customers overnight. Fresh crews on deck to help reconnect 8,000 remaining homes #EastCoastLow
24 hrs without power #SydneyStorm
Still no response from @Ausgrid about why we don't have power or when a technician can check network supply #SydneyStorm
3.36am BST
Hello, and thanks for following along our coverage of these devastating storms.
Police have just confirmed that three people have died – two in New South Wales, one in the ACT – while two are missing in Tasmania.
Well, Coogee rock wall got destroyed. #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/MwCJbmxZy4
Coogee aftermath #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/y494hQPkiq
Much sand has been washed away from Coogee beach exposing what used to be a pier there. #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/BWq2fCERsv
.@coogeeslsc was hit hard by #SydneyStorm yesterday. If you see any damage, please report it to the SES or us. pic.twitter.com/O8x80NNTSI
3.28am BST
The storms which affected the east-coast of Australia over the weekend have had some devastating consequences, with three lives lost and others still missing. One body has been recovered in the ACT and a further two in NSW. To recap:
3.13am BST
NSW police have issued a statement about the two men who have been found in floodwaters, one in Leppington and one in Bowral.
Police divers have retrieved the bodies of two men in separate cars which were swept into flood waters at Bowral and in Sydney’s south west yesterday.
About 5pm on Sunday, emergency services were called to Anthony Road, Leppington, after receiving information of a white utility entering a causeway and being washed away.
3.10am BST
Tasmanian police hold grave concerns for two elderly people missing as heavy rain drenches the island state, AAP reports.
Search and rescue specialists are searching in Ouse after reports a man in his 80s may have been swept away by flood waters.
Another elderly man was rescued from his Latrobe home earlier on Monday morning by helicopter as water inundated his home but his wife is missing.
#BREAKING Two people reportedly missing in #Tasmania: man in his 80s in #Ouse + female in #Latrobe. More to come.
3.01am BST
According to AAP: Police have confirmed the body of a 65-year-old man was found on Monday in a vehicle in Mittagong Creek near Bowral after he was reported missing on Sunday.
The body of another man has been found in a ute at Leppington in Sydney’s southwest, with police searching for another person who was reportedly swept away.
2.58am BST
Guardian Australia’s Graham Russell has taken some photos outside Avoca Beach surf club today, which is about 95km north of Sydney.
The work of last night's high tide outside Avoca beach surf club. #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/2EeL8fWXSB
Avoca beach walkway - bricks from here ended up in car park #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/BZGE2q46Q0
2.54am BST
Josh Bartlett, a reporter with Southern Highland News, reports that a man has died after being trapped in his vehicle in Mittagong Creek. It is unclear whether this is one of the two deaths NSW police are referring to. Bartlett reports:
On Monday morning, local police and assisting crew discovered a 65-year-old Mittagong man behind the wheel of his silver Mazda in Mittagong Creek (behind Bowral Swimming Pool).
Chief Inspector John Sheehan said police were notified at 5.30pm on Sunday about a car being possibly stuck in the creek.
#BREAKING Man's body found in floodwaters at Leppington in Sydney's south west. Search underway for possible second body
2.47am BST
NSW police say they will be issuing a statement shortly about the two deaths in that state.
2.43am BST
Tragically, it appears there may have also been floodwater-related deaths in NSW. I’ll try to get more details shortly.
#BREAKING: Police operation near Camden to retrieve two bodies suspected to be swept from ute. #9News https://t.co/3kTbWfiQyZ
2.40am BST
From ABC News 24:
That east coast low is now moving towards Tasmania, where four of the State’s major rivers are at bursting point ahead of more torrential rain.
They’re expecting another 100mm there over the next few days. The State Emergency Service says river levels in Launceston have already surpassed those from back in 1929 when floods left 5,000 people homeless. There are major flood warnings for [several] river basins. There’s also a risk of flooding around Kimberley, Railton, Latrobe and Forth in the north-west.
2.22am BST
In the wake of the tragic death, the chief executive officer of the ACT State Emergency Service, Conrad Barr, has urged people not to drive through floodwaters. It has to be said that there is no indication that the 37 year-old who died was deliberately chasing floodwaters to drive through in his four-wheel drive. The circumstances leading up to the tragedy is a matter of police investigation. However, Barr warns:
Don’t try to drive through floodwaters. It doesn’t matter what you think, the current is often a lot faster than it appears, and sometimes under a couple of centimetres of dirty, muddy water you can have part of a roadway or great big holes, boulders, logs, all sorts of things that can catch your vehicle and it doesn’t take too much water and pressure against the side of a vehicle to turn it into a temporary boat.
[I] can’t stress more highly, please don’t try to drive through floodwaters, and steer clear of things like storm-water drains and all those sorts of things. I know it might look spectacular but it’s far safer being inside, out of the rain.
37yo man dead after being swept away by 'savage' floodwaters in Cotter River near Canberra: https://t.co/FkIbMPkIve https://t.co/aR9nve1aXE
2.15am BST
More from Sgt Hains, who said police came across the man stuck in his vehicle and unable to cross floodwaters at about 4.30pm yesterday. His body was not found and recovered until this morning, Hains said.
During the course of trying to ascertain a safe method to extract that male, the vehicle has shifted and the male has disappeared from view along with the vehicle. A search was then undertaken and a short time later, police, along with emergency services, ACT Fire and Rescue, located what we believe to be a a body stuck in raging floodwaters on an island in the middle of the river.
Police and emergency services worked on a plan together to try to retrieve the deceased. It was not safe to to so last night and police maintained a presence there all night. And this morning, ACT emergency services and ACT policing resources reconvened at the scene and have retrieved the body of a 37-year-old male.
2.10am BST
Police are holding a press conference about the body found in the Cotter River, and the details are tragic. Station Sgt Harry Hains says:
We got a call in relation to two young males who’d been out four-wheel driving and they realised they couldn’t get back across the river. Police attended, along with emergency services, Fire and Rescue, to go and assist those males.
In the course of trying to locate a safe point for those males, we located another vehicle, stuck in the river, with a male in the vehicle. That is the vehicle which was subsequently swept by the floodwaters, flipped and disappeared from view, with the male’s body subsequently being recovered early this morning.
That is correct.
I’d like to also say it’s an absolute tragedy and our condolences go out to the family.
What I would like to say is that these types of weather conditions, extreme weather conditions we’ve experienced, do lead adventure-seeking type people to seek mud with their four-wheel drives. There is no risk worth taking to cross a flooded river to go and seek some piece of dirt to drive your four-wheel drive on. If a river looks too deep to cross, it’s too deep to cross.
Body of 37 yr old Canberra man recovered from Cotter River this am. Washed away in car yesterday. @abcnewsCanberra pic.twitter.com/haxTwzqkTe
1.59am BST
Meanwhile, in Victoria.
Richard Carlyon, a senior forecaster with the state’s Bureau of Meteorology says the wild weather has only “just glanced” Victoria. The far eastern corner of the state in East Gippsland is the only region affected by the weather system, Carlyon says. But things should be back to normal there by this evening.
Flood Watch for East Gippsland (Mitchell, Tambo, Snowy, Cann and Genoa Rivers and Gippsland Lakes): https://t.co/DgPm8j7e6X #vicfloods
1.39am BST
I have just spoken to ACT police media, who have confirmed a body has been found in the Cotter river area, but that is all they can say at this stage. The SES and police will be holding a media conference at 11am with more details.
A body has been found in the Cotter River. It is believed they were swept away in flood waters. #9Today https://t.co/aTbs03Obf5
1.31am BST
Some tragic news this morning. The ABC is reporting that a body has been found in the floodwaters.
#BREAKING A body, believed to have been swept away in floodwaters, has been found in the Cotter River near #Canberra #ACT
1.27am BST
Commuters in and around Sydney are being affected this morning, with train lines covered in debris, Transport NSW says. AAP reports:
The light rail between central and Lilyfield is also closed due to branches falling on overhead wires.
A land slip at Guildford has closed the T5 Cumberland Line between Blacktown and Campbelltown and the T2 South and Inner West Line from Granville to Cabramatta.
1.21am BST
A round up of the damage at Collaroy.
Seven beachfront homes and an apartment block were evacuated last night. Collaroy Surf Club has been severely damaged by surf and the Beach Club, which lost its balcony to the eight metre waves overnight, has announced it is closed until further notice.
1.12am BST
About 4,200 homes in Tasmania are without power, the Mercury reports.
Residents and authorities are bracing for further heavy rain and wind as the east coast low moves slowly over the state.
12.58am BST
Let’s not forget the animals also suffering through the miserable weather and destructive floods. The last post had a sea turtle, now for a horse.
Camden Valley Way #NSWSES attending a horse #rescue pic.twitter.com/VD3N4QSnU6
12.51am BST
Readers have sent in their photos and videos of the wild weather. A few selections are below. You can also contribute yours here, we’d love to see them.
This hole opened up overnight. Photo taken at low tide Sunday 5 June. Beach mostly gone already with king tide still to come.
Sent via GuardianWitness
By nyaminyami
5 June 2016, 16:48
Paul Wachter, a ranger with the Northern Beaches Council, called Jacqui Marlow, a Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife carer, early on Sunday morning 5th June 2016 to attend to a green turtle had been washed ashore by huge seas on Palm Beach. Jacqui took the turtle to Taronga Zoo where Taronga Zoo vet nurse Liz said that it was not clear why the animal had been washed ashore and that it was clearly exhausted. Liz said that Taronga Zoo has a good history of rehabilitating and subsequently releasing green turtles that are brought to them for care. The process of rehabilitation is a slow one, Liz said, and it could be months before the young turtle is well enough to be released.
Sent via GuardianWitness
By IanRalph
5 June 2016, 19:10
Crazy waves hitting cliff at Bondi Beach
Sent via GuardianWitness
By SamohtNZ
5 June 2016, 21:20
12.31am BST
The drama is not over for the Sydney region yet. The State Emergency Service reports bridge closures on the Hawkesbury river, a number of roads closed due to flooding, and evacuation orders were in place for parts of Picton, low-lying parts of Woronora and Lansvale.
Bridge Closures along the #Hawkesbury today.
Windsor Bridge will be closed at 10:30am & Richmond Bridge at 12pm. Find an alternate route
This was the Bass Hwy. @SESTasmania urging people to stay clear of #flood waters. pic.twitter.com/BA0HYdojBV
12.02am BST
Here is some of the devastation at Collaroy and Narrabeen. The combination of the east coast low, a king tide and the wind direction was bad news for the beachside houses.
About 8,000 houses were still without power in Sydney’s north this morning.
The Beach Club Collaroy #sydneyweather #SydneyStorm @702sydney @abcnews pic.twitter.com/Ap79dd6tee
WRL coastal monitoring team up at first light to survey the damage at Collaroy #sydneystorm #drone @UNSWEngineering pic.twitter.com/HjgVg5GKJg
Coogee Surf club's wall smashed in by the storm last night pic.twitter.com/bHIpigf29k
11.52pm BST
Far East Gippsland in Victoria is expected to cop heavy rainfall, and is on flood watch. Minor flood warnings are in place for the Genoa and Snowy rivers, and a moderate warning for the Bombala river.
In Tasmania SES crews rescued several people in the north and northwest after they tried to drive through floodwaters (please don’t do that!) and got stranded.
11.50pm BST
Good morning, and welcome to our coverage of the wild and destructive weather lashing the east coast of Australia.
Entire stretches of beach are gone and buildings have partially collapsed into the ocean, suburbs have flooded and residents have been evacuated as a monster storm made its way through Queensland and New South Wales over the weekend.
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