The Bureau of Meteorology is looking into whether a waterspout or a tornado caused significant damage over the weekend south of Sydney.
On Sunday morning, strong winds in the Illawarra district of Bellambi and Corrimal damaged about 40 dwellings.
An apartment building’s roof was torn off by the violent weather, and a trampoline that was launched into the air from a backyard into electrical lines.
Berkeley also experienced a landslide, which left streets littered with uprooted trees, mud, and debris.
A waterspout or a tornado that originates over water has not been ruled out by the BOM, which is looking into what caused the devastating damage.
Forecaster Helen Reid told the ABC that further research was needed into the radar imagery that was available at the same time as the tornado reports.
But it appeared as though there might have been a second circulation going on at the time.
SES personnel claimed there was a “obvious” trail of devastation, despite the bureau’s assertion that it is still too early to determine the precise cause.
As a result of severe weather warnings for damaging winds, heavy rains, and dangerous surf conditions, there are worries that even more damage may occur.
After two days of severe rain, streets throughout the Wollongong region have been swamped by flash flooding.
There have also been evacuation alerts issued for a number of the campgrounds near Lake Illawarra.
Over the course of the weekend, the Wollongong SES unit received more than 220 requests for assistance, and at midnight on Sunday, there were still 55 unfinished tasks.
The public assisted dozens of volunteers as they filled sandbags all day long.