NSW: Thousands still without power as school mourns loss

AAP General News (Australia)
12-04-2001
NSW: Thousands still without power as school mourns loss

SYDNEY, Dec 4 AAP - Thousands of homes remain without power this morning as a school
community comes to grips with with the loss of two of its students from a severe storm
that lashed Sydney.

Two 15-year-old girls from William Clarke College in Kellyville were killed when they
were crushed by a tree that snapped in half as the storm tore through Sydney yesterday
afternoon leaving a trail of destruction.

Two of their school friends were also injured when the tree came down at the Crosslands
Reserve near Hornsby Heights where the students were due to spend the night as part of
the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

State Emergency Service crews and energy suppliers worked through the night trying
to restore power to homes and clear trees and other debris from roads and homes.

The clean-up will continue today with dozens of volunteer crews.

At the peak of the storm 70,000 homes serviced by Energy Australia and 37,000 by Integral
Energy were left without power.

By late last night, Integral still had 14,000 homes without power while 35,000 homes
mainly in Hornsby, Berowra and Dee Why remained without electricity.

An Energy Australia spokeswoman said it would be some time before power would be restored
to all homes because of the number of fallen trees and damaged power lines.

The NSW government late yesterday declared much of metropolitan Sydney a natural disaster
area enabling residents and businesses to access financial assistance.

Emergency Services Minister Bob Debus last night inspected the damage in Sydney's north
and said it was one of the worst storms in terms of the human toll.

He described the death of the two school students as a tragedy and offered his condolences
to their families.

Meanwhile, 50 bushfires sparked by lightning strikes were still burning in the Hawkesbury,
Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Wollondilly districts with rural fire crews working to contain
the blazes.

AAP sal/pw/de

KEYWORD: STORM DAYLEAD

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.