newy.com.au – Almost 15,000 homes and businesses lost power across Newcastle’s western suburbs on Monday afternoon as damaging winds brought down trees and powerlines and disrupted traffic across the Hunter.
Ausgrid’s outage map showed 14,989 customers without electricity after the unplanned outage was reported at 2.11pm. It affected Birmingham Gardens, Callaghan, Cardiff, Cardiff Heights, Elermore Vale, Glendale, Jesmond, Lambton, New Lambton, New Lambton Heights, North Lambton, Rankin Park, Shortland, Wallsend, Waratah and Waratah West.
Traffic lights were blacked out at several intersections within the outage area, creating another hazard for motorists already dealing with difficult conditions.
Ausgrid had assigned an initial response crew by 2.28pm and estimated power would be restored by 5.30pm. The cause remained under investigation and the restoration time could change once crews assessed the damage.
Following the outage, Fire and Rescue NSW received its first call to fallen electrical wires in the area at 2.17pm.
Live weather observations showed the strength of the system, with westerly gusts nearing 90km/h at exposed Nobbys during the afternoon. Newcastle Weather’s suburban readings were also recording repeated strong gusts as the wind swept across the city.
The Bureau of Meteorology had warned of damaging winds across the Hunter, with peak gusts capable of exceeding 90km/h.
Fallen trees were reported on Newcastle Link Road and near Cardiff. A tree was also affecting northbound traffic on the M1 Pacific Motorway approaching Freemans Drive, near Freemans Waterhole.
A separate crash was reported at Lochinvar, although there was no immediate indication it was caused by the weather.
Emergency crews were also responding to a reported vegetation fire near Wangi Road at Toronto, while arcing electrical wires were reported around Swansea. The causes of those incidents had not been confirmed.
Motorists were urged to slow down around fallen trees and blacked-out traffic lights. Ausgrid advises people to treat all fallen or damaged powerlines as live, remain at least eight metres away and report hazards to emergency services or the electricity network.
