A woman has been killed by a falling tree near Wollongong in NSW as wild weather batters Australia’s east coast, triggering flash-flood warnings and beach closures.
Emergency services were called to the Illawarra Highway at Macquarie Pass on Saturday afternoon after a tree branch struck a vehicle.
The female driver died at the scene, while a male front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries. Two rear-seat passengers were unhurt.
The death came as dangerous thunderstorms and heavy rain swept across NSW, with flash-flood warnings in place and beaches closed north and south of Sydney.
Ettalong on the Central Coast was lashed, with 93.5mm of rain in an hour, while nearby Pearl Beach recorded 133mm in two hours earlier in the day.
Gosford recorded 56.6mm of rain in one hour; 66mm fell at Bensville; and 71mm of rainfall was recorded at Koolewong.
More than 880 people have called the SES for help since the severe weather began, with the majority of requests from metropolitan areas.
NSW SES spokeswoman Emily Barton said the rain had been experienced "far and wide" across the state.
"We've got volunteers out responding as we speak to flood rescues and there's several incidents of leaking roofs and trees down," she said.
Wild weather for south-east QLD
Southeast Queensland is also on alert, with warnings of flash flooding, damaging winds and large hailstones as a band of thunderstorms move east towards Brisbane.
Falls up to 60mm in half an hour from the storms were reported in the Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs.
Clean-up efforts are underway in parts of Victoria after torrential rain quickly overfilled the Wye, Kennett and Cumberland rivers in holiday hotspots along the Great Ocean Road.
The extreme event carried huge amounts of water downstream, swamping campgrounds and upending vehicles.
Multiple cars remain stranded in the surf as authorities estimate some 10 to 20 vehicles to have been lost.
Several cars were washed onto a beach by flash-flooding at Wye River in Victoria. Source: AAP / Michael Currie
Disaster assistance has been announced for flood-affected communities, with funding provided to councils for emergency relief centres.
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