More wild weather on the way after man dies at Hervey Bay in thunderstorm
A man has died after being struck by a falling tree branch at Hervey Bay as severe thunderstorms continue to batter the East Coast.
Wild weather is predicted to batter south east Queensland and NSW for the next few days, winds are expected to exceed 100kph.
Police say the 68-year-old Narangba man was struck by the branch at a caravan park on Charlton Esplanade in Scarness in the Hervey Bay area at around 7.30pm on Friday.
A couple were rescued from their submerged car in Austral, Sydney overnight. Photo: 7 News
Residents in many parts of NSW including Sydney were on Friday warned to batten down the hatches as another round of severe storms and damaging winds closed in on the state.
Two people were rescued from their submerged vehicle in Austral, Sydney just after midnight.
Lightning strikes Sydney Tower in the CBD. Source: City of Sydney/mikejmorrow/IG
When police arrived at the scene the people were on the roof of the van, as they were trying to assist their patrol car also became submerged and
The weather bureau warned that large hailstorms, flash flooding and punishing winds were likely as another storm front swept through on Saturday.
Brutal storms on Friday triggered more than 350 calls for help and cut power to more than 40,000 homes.
Flooding sparked at least three rescue calls, with State Emergency Service crews swooping on a Sydney family of four whose car was overcome on Friday afternoon.
Emergency services are now bracing for more thunderstorms on the horizon, SES spokesman Phil Campbell told AAP.
"We're on our toes against localised flash flooding with fairly heavy rain expected to hit the south coast (on Friday night)," Mr Campbell said.
"There still are some storms kicking around the west and northwest, and the real risk now is those storms redeveloping tomorrow.
"We could be looking at a repeat of today all over again."
