Sydney cleans up after ferocious winds

11 Aug 2012, 11:25 am   -   Source: AAP
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Part of the roof is seen in the grounds of St Paul's Catholic College at Manly after wild winds hit Sydney. (AAP)

Part of the roof is seen in the grounds of St Paul's Catholic College at Manly after wild winds hit Sydney. (AAP)

Sydney is cleaning up after a night of ferocious winds which brought down trees and ripped roofs of buildings.

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Sydney is cleaning up after a night of ferocious winds which brought down trees and ripped roofs of buildings.

About 300 State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers are out across Sydney and surrounding areas repairing the damage done to cars, homes and building sites.

By Saturday morning, more than 1100 requests for assistance had been made to the SES, many relating to trees that had fallen on houses, streets and cars.

Strong winds still blowing across the city are making the clean-up difficult for the volunteers, with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasting 50km/h winds in coastal areas, with gusts reaching up to 90km/h per hour.

A severe weather warning is still in place for Sydney and the Hunter and mid north coast regions, but winds are expected to ease later in the day.

SES Deputy Commissioner Steven Pearce said crews would be out in difficult conditions repairing damage throughout the day and into Saturday night.

"For the volunteers out in the field, it's freezing cold, howling wind and every now and then they're getting wet," he told AAP on Saturday.

Calls for help were continuing to flow into the SES on Saturday morning, with 70 calls made within a 30 minute period.

On Friday, winds of up to 90km/h battered the city, beaching several boats and shooting debris across Sydney.

Among the most serious cases of wind damage were a roof blown off St Paul's Catholic school in the northern beaches suburb of Manly, injuring two, and a Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital building that lost part of its roof.

Mr Pearce said most of the serious damage had been caused on Friday afternoon, and there were no other reports of serious structural damage on Saturday.

About 40,000 homes lost power on Friday.

Ausgrid says it has restored power to most Sydney homes, with around 1000 houses in small pockets of the city still without electricity.

A BOM spokeswoman said winds should ease off during the day.

"It will probably pick up for the next couple of hours and then an easing in the afternoon," she said.

Less than 24 hours out from the City to Surf, about 80 SES volunteers are focusing on the Sydney's eastern suburbs to clean debris that is currently blocking the track.

"There's a fair bit of debris and trees down on the course," Mr Pearce told AAP.

The BOM spokesperson said Sunday would still be windy for Sydneysiders, but gusts will be outside of the damaging range.

Wild Weather , Sydney Weather

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