The storm struck the town from about 3pm on Friday,damaging the central business district and reportedly lasting about 10 to 20 minutes.
Damage in Port Macquarie’s CBD.Supplied
Fire and Rescue NSW said “powerful gusts” ripped the roof off an apartment block in Hastings River Drive,and residents from three top-floor apartments “rushed downstairs to seek shelter with neighbours”.
Other damage included a tree crashing into a home in Hay Street,tearing its roof off,a car and a truck hit by fallen gum trees with no reports of injuries,damage to the private hospital in Lake Road,and downed powerlines.
Traffic lights were blacked out at key intersections between the Oxley Highway and Gordon Street,and Hastings River and Ocean drives,causing chaos due to peak-hour traffic,before power was restored in the early hours of Saturday morning.
David Lazarus,the owner of Port Macquarie Adventure Cruises,posted on social media that his business sign had been partially torn off in the short event,which lasted about 10 to 20 minutes.
He said he found debris from the sign about 80 metres up the street.
“And now the weather’s sunny again,” Lazarus said in a video as he walked around Clarence Street,surveying the damage. “Port Macquarie’s been hit by a mini cyclone,I can tell you that.”
Other damage on the street included part of the roof being ripped from The Grill restaurant,landing in the street,and damage to the nearby wharf and maritime museum.
Councillor Danielle Maltman posted photos to social media showing a number of trees uprooted and structural damage to properties in the CBD.
About 60 calls for help were made to the SES in the 30 minutes to 4pm,with reports of roofs blown from buildings,fallen trees and requests for flood rescues.
The number of calls had grown to 150 by 5.30pm,said Michael Ward from the Port Macquarie unit of the SES.
The SES was prioritising re-establishing safe access around the town,before focusing on clearing access to homes and businesses,he said.
There were no immediate reports of significant injuries.
Musicians Paul Kelly,Missy Higgins,Bernard Fanning and Troy Cassar-Daley had been due to play the Red Hot Summer Tour at Westport Park in Port Macquarie on Saturday,but organisers said it could not proceed due to the storm.
“Severe damage was caused to staging,production and site infrastructure,leaving promoters with no alternative other than to cancel the event,” the organisers wrote.
Utility company Essential Energy said about 1400 of its customers remained without power in Port Macquarie on Saturday morning.
By about 2pm,the company said its local teams,joined by colleagues from Bulahdelah to Coffs Harbour,had restored electricity for about 95 per cent of its customers.
On Saturday,Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters from Port Macquarie,Forster,Kempsey,Laurieton,Taree and Wauchope joined the SES in recovery efforts.
Several crews were at a major tourist resort on Park Street which had lost a substantial amount of roofing from strong gusts.
FRNSW used drones,fitted with infrared cameras,to inspect the structural integrity of roofs and identify sites which were too dangerous for emergency teams to access.
They also helped residents conduct damage assessments,cleared trees from buildings and roads and stretched tarpaulins across damaged roofs.
A severe weather warning for “damaging winds and large hailstones” had been in place for the Mid North Coast,the Northern Rivers and the Northern Tablelands on Friday afternoon. Areas at risk included Port Macquarie,Grafton,Coffs Harbour,Sawtell and Dorrigo.
With AAP
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