Flash floods in Sydney

Sydney flooding: Dozen people evacuated from Marrickville apartment after heavy rain hits city

More than a dozen people have been evacuated from an apartment block in Marrickville in Sydney's inner west following a morning of heavy rain across the city, the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has said.

ABC,

7 February, 2017

The foundations of the Ewart Street building were thought to be unstable due to the deluge and 17 residents were evacuated, Fire and Rescue NSW said.

Acting Superintendent Don Pescud from Fire and Rescue NSW said engineers are assessing the Marrickville complex and have so far found no damage.

"But if the wash away had continued at the rate that it was there were fears that the building would collapse," he said.

"The threat has been averted because the rain stopped."

He said council engineers and police were currently assessing the stability of the building and it was unclear whether residents would be allowed to return home.

A single story home at Tennyson Point in Sydney's north west has also collapsed in the deluge but no one was home at the time.

Photos taken by the ABC show the roof of the building has completely caved in, with debris scattered around the cordoned-off building.

"I've spoken to firefighters on the ground there and they believe the home will have to be completely rebuilt," Acting Superintendent Pescud said.

Parts of Sydney have experienced flash flooding this morning, with 49mm falling in Marrickville within one hour and 45mm in Canterbury, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.

Observatory Hill has had a total of 51mm since 9:00am, with 35mm falling within an hour.

BOM has now cancelled a severe thunderstorm warning issued earlier, saying the immediate threat had passed.

Ms Gollings said volunteers had responded to 13 separate flood rescues around Glebe, Marrickville, Alexandria and Zetland.

She said those people were caught by surprise but were now safe.

"All of those rescues have involved people caught in their cars in floodwater," she said.

"The water did rise quite rapidly we had quite a downpour over a matter of hours really, causing roads to flood quite quickly.

"It's concerning for us that people are putting themselves in danger. We just want them to stay out of floodwaters."

Emergency crews are now investigating power outages to about 1,400 homes and businesses in parts of Lane Cove and 700 customers around Redfern and Surry Hills.

On King Street, rain forced the evacuation of the Supreme Court building and dozens of people, including those involved in criminal trials, were ordered to leave.

An alarm was triggered and stormwater could be seen leaking into parts of the historic building, although it has now reopened to the public.

Roads were inundated while some shops reported at least two inches of water on their floors.

Darlinghurst cafe Posto No 19 said their outdoor tables and chairs floated down the street when flooding was at its peak.

Delays for motorists, airline passengers

Motorists are experiencing lengthy delays after the rain led to flooding on some major city roads.

There is only one westbound lane open on the Anzac Bridge in Sydney's inner-west.

Motorists were being advised to slow down and exercise caution.

Buses across Sydney were also experiencing delays.

A section of the light rail is not operating between Central and Dulwich Hill because of flooding at various spots along the line.

Sydney Airport has confirmed airlines are experiencing delays and warned flights could be cancelled.