Huge swells have hammered the city’s beaches,damaging walkways and inundating footpaths.
Rescuers are searching for a man whose car was swept away west of Taree as authorities say some communities could be trapped by floodwater for six weeks.
As Sydney endured a brutally hot,dry and windy Sunday,one group turned to a traditional way to manage the heat.
Inner Sydney is set to reach 37 degrees on Sunday,possibly exceeding temperatures in parts of the west due to an unusual weather phenomenon.
Temperatures will climb almost 10 degrees above average in Sydney this weekend before a southerly buster-like cool change sweeps through the city.
Areas of Lismore are already flooded,with rising water inching closer to breaching the city’s levee as the SES calls Saturday “D-Day” for the state.
Areas from the Tweed on the far north coast,inland at Lismore,and as far south as Port Macquarie are subject to the orders as Cyclone Alfred edges closer.
Evacuation centres have been set up,flights cancelled and schools closed as the category 2 storm moves towards land.
The oncoming cyclone sparked panic buying on both sides of the border,while surfers made the most of the storm swell at popular beaches on the Gold Coast and at Byron Bay.
The weather bureau is forecasting a hot autumn across most of Australia,after an unusually hot summer marked by natural disasters.