Sydney storms: Narrabeen-Collaroy beach lashed by large seas

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 7 years ago

Sydney storms: Narrabeen-Collaroy beach lashed by large seas

By Louise Hall
Updated

The intense storm lashing the NSW coast has caused significant erosion at the Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach on Sydney's northern beaches, leaving some homes teetering on the brink.

Residents returned to their homes on Monday morning to assess the damage after being evacuated on Sunday night, with some homes partially washed away.

"Within three hours we had a garden that was just totally destroyed - gone," a woman told Network Seven as she looked at her home from police tape as the sun rose on Monday.

She described how, during Sunday's storm, the east coast low combined with a king tide as the water got "closer and closer" until police told residents to evacuate.

After the big storm, houses at Collaroy Beach front.

After the big storm, houses at Collaroy Beach front.Credit: Peter Rae

"I never thought it would be this bad," she said.

Huge waves of up to eight metres hit along the coast, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure on Sunday night. Sandbagging and evacuations were under way at Narrabeen and Collaroy at 9pm.

Further south, the surf lifesaving clubhouse at Coogee was among the hardest hit.

Advertisement

"The surf club building itself seems to have had its foundations damaged and the stone wall at the front has been destroyed," said the club's captain, Tass Karozis.

Collaroy home bore the brunt of the storm.

Collaroy home bore the brunt of the storm. Credit: Peter Rae

"The waves that are coming in are probably eight metres in height. All the ground floor windows, the storm surge just broke them in, so we've lost all our gear downstairs. The storm surge is just pummelling it. The boatshed where we store all our equipment has been destroyed," Mr Karozis said.

"I've never seen anything like that. I was talking to a couple of old blokes and they said '74 was a big year, but not like this.

Coogee's surf lifesaving clubhouse suffered extensive damage.

Coogee's surf lifesaving clubhouse suffered extensive damage.Credit: Peter Rae

"It's ripped out the handrails and pushed around the blocks of stone on the walkway."

Images being collected and analysed as part of a research program show houses at Collaroy have lost about five metres of their front yards in the past 48 hours.

Houses under threat at Narrabeen on Sunday.

Houses under threat at Narrabeen on Sunday. Credit: UNSW Water Research Laboratory

A time-lapse movie from the the University of NSW's Water Research Laboratory displays the extent of erosion being caused by the east coast low.

Senior research associate Mitchell Harley said the current weather system is "the perfect storm" with a combination of a king tide and waves coming from a north-easterly direction, rather than the typical southerly direction.

He said such extreme erosion hasn't been seen in the Narrabeen-Collaroy area since 1974.

Old sea walls put in place in the 1960s and 1970s have started to emerge as the waves strip the beach of its sand, he said. Foundations of houses built right on the shore are also starting to become exposed.

Residents from the North Narrabeen Caravan Park and the nearby Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation were evacuated as floodwaters rose on the northern beaches.

Police said students from the sports academy on the flood-prone Wakehurst Parkway were sent to the Narrabeen Surf Club due to fears Narrabeen Lakes would flood.

Evacuated Narrabeen resident Erin Goul described the flood as "chaotic".

"The water just came in rapidly - there were cars screaming down the street causing massive waves that came in through the front door."

Dr Harley said the beach was in its healthiest state for 40 years as recently as two weeks ago with abundant sand.

"It goes to show it just takes one big storm to cause seriously concerning damage," he said.

"The beaches will eventually recover; the issue is whether the infrastructure next to the beach will survive the storm."

The laboratory has been preparing for the storm all week by installing extra monitoring equipment and using drones.

Narrabeen-Collaroy is the site of one of just a handful of beaches worldwide where researchers have an unbroken and regular record of the changes that have occurred to this stretch of coast spanning several decades.

Initiated in 1976, the beach has been surveyed every month for the past 40 years using a variety of survey techniques.

The imaging station consists of five monitoring cameras that collect a suite of image products every 30 minutes during daylight hours.

Loading

The Bureau of Meteorology says nearby Mona Vale had recorded 114mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday.

With AAP

Most Viewed in Environment

Loading