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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Tornado rips roofs off homes as record winds lash Sydney | Tornado rips roofs off homes as record winds lash Sydney |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A tornado has ripped through Sydney, with one weather station recording the fastest ever wind speeds in the state of New South Wales. | |
| Destructive winds of 213km/h hit Kurnell, on the southern headland of Botany Bay, Wednesday morning. | Destructive winds of 213km/h hit Kurnell, on the southern headland of Botany Bay, Wednesday morning. |
| Two people have been taken to hospital, one suffering head injuries and another suffering shock, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson told the BBC. | |
| A Kurnell resident told Sky News the storm sounded "like a freight train". | |
| Authorities said it is lucky no-one was seriously injured, but at least 25 properties have been severely damaged, some declared uninhabitable. | |
| "This is a hard blow for the Kurnell community, just one week before Christmas," NSW State Emergency Service (SES) spokesperson Phil Campbell said. | |
| The SES has responded to more than 500 calls for help, and 11 flood rescues, including some people trapped inside their vehicles during flash flooding. | |
| About 180 children were forced to evacuate their classrooms in Kurnell. | |
| Meanwhile other suburbs including Bondi were also hit hard, with mobile phone footage showing shocked shoppers watching a roof collapse at a Westfield mall. | |
| A Westfield spokeswoman reportedly told AAP one shopper was hit by debris and treated at the scene for minor injuries. | |
| Sydney airport is still open, but the weather has caused delays, the AFP reports. | Sydney airport is still open, but the weather has caused delays, the AFP reports. |
| Westpac Life Saver Helicopter Chief Executive Stephen Leahy said the organisation's chopper pad is a "crow's fly" from Kurnell. He said the base has been littered with particles of roofing insulation that has been ripped from roofs. | |
| "The roof bats have been carried across Botany Bay and landed on our landing pad," Mr Leahy told the BBC's Ashley Donnelly. | |
| "We were surprised by the extent of the damage of this was a very rapid moving storm." |