Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption People in vehicles were among those caught up in the floods

Sydney has been deluged by the heaviest November rain it has experienced in decades, causing flash-flooding, traffic chaos and power cuts.

Heavy rain fell throughout Wednesday, the city at one point receiving its average monthly rainfall in two hours.

Officials said dozens of vehicles crashed in the stormy conditions, with winds of up to 90km/h (55mph) also recorded.

At least two deaths have been blamed on the storm.

A 14-year-old boy died in a car accident in Thornleigh, in the north of Sydney on Wednesday morning.

A volunteer with the state's emergency service also died while out on duty, and two police officers were injured after being hit by a falling tree while trying to help Sydney motorists, authorities said.

Images posted online showed downed trees and flooded roads, houses and train stations.

The weather played havoc with commuters in Australia's biggest city, with many transport services cancelled or delayed - including 130 flights at the international airport.

A spokeswoman for Sydney airport said it was forced to operate only one runway after two others were closed due to the storm.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said it was the region's wettest November day since 1984.

"The intensity of that rainfall was phenomenal - 91mm fell in 90 minutes," forecaster Rob Taggart told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Sydney had one month's worth of rain in two hours, meteorologists say

Image copyright EPA Image caption Council workers attempt to clear a drain

The storm centred on coastal parts of New South Wales (NSW), but was reported to have missed many inland regions affected by drought.

Ausgrid, the country's biggest electricity network, said the storm had cut electricity to more than 8,000 customers around the Sydney area.

By Wednesday evening, more than 3,250 homes and businesses were still reported to be without power.

Authorities urged people to try to avoid travelling where possible, as the two main phases of the rain fell around commuting times.

"We cannot stress enough that motorists should never attempt to drive through flood waters or cross flooded causeways," assistant commissioner Michael Corboy of NSW Police said on Wednesday.

The floods are not the only extreme weather currently being experienced in Australia.

In Queensland, further north, thousands have been evacuated as an unprecedented heatwave grips the region, sparking destructive bushfires and dust-storms.</s>More than 500 Australians have called for emergency assistance after storms lashed Sydney and nearby regions, causing floods, power cuts and flight delays.

Sydney had its average monthly rainfall within just two hours on Wednesday, according to meteorologists.

Authorities said at least 11 people had been rescued from vehicles trapped in floods. One man died in a car accident.

Two police officers were injured in Sydney after being hit by a falling tree while trying to help motorists, authorities said.

The weather played havoc with the morning commute in Australia's biggest city, with many transport services cancelled or delayed - including more than 50 flights.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said it was the region's wettest November day since 1984.

"The intensity of that rainfall was phenomenal - 91mm fell in 90 minutes," forecaster Rob Taggart told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The storm centred on coastal parts of New South Wales (NSW), but was reported to have missed many inland regions affected by drought.
• What does it take to break a drought?

Authorities urged people to stay safe ahead of more forecast storms later on Wednesday.

"We cannot stress enough that motorists should never attempt to drive through flood waters or cross flooded causeways," said assistant commissioner Michael Corboy of NSW Police.</s>Torrential rain triggered flash flooding that turned streets into rivers in Sydney, Australia's biggest city, on Wednesday, causing major disruptions to the morning commute.

A spokesman for Ausgrid, the nation's biggest electricity network, said the storm had so far left 8,100 homes without power around Sydney and the central coast.

There was chaos on the roads, with at least five stranded motorists needing to be plucked from rising floodwaters, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

"The storm is pretty intense in and around the airport," a Sydney airport spokesperson said. "We are operating from a single runway so that means that there are delays and likely some flights will be cancelled."

The central Sydney area had received 90 millimetres of rain, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and state emergency services received dozens of calls for help.

A series of storms was forecast to last through most of the day and ease in the evening, with strong winds continuing.</s>Hundreds of Australians were forced to call the emergency services for help as Sydney was hit with flash flooding.

More than 500 people in Sydney and the surrounding areas were left trapped as heavy rains lashed the city.

The ferocious storms caused widespread flooding, power cuts and flight delays as they hit the coastal parts of New South Wales (NSW).

Meteorologists said Sydney experienced an average month's worth of rain within just two hours.

Authorities said one man died in a car accident.

At least a further 11 had to be rescued after their vehicles became trapped by flood waters.

Two police officers were injured when they were hit by a falling tree while trying to help motorists.

Pictures and footage posted online show flooded streets and emergency workers trying to clear drains as rain continues to fall.

The storms caused travel chaos with more than 50 flights cancelled or delayed.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said it was the region's wettest November day since 1984.

"The intensity of that rainfall was phenomenal - 91mm fell in 90 minutes," forecaster Rob Taggart told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

More warnings were issued as more storms are forecast to hit on Wednesday.

Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy of NSW Police said: "We cannot stress enough that motorists should never attempt to drive through flood waters or cross flooded causeways."</s>Hundreds of people called authorities for emergency assistance as storms struck Sydney and its surround areas.

Australian officials said at least 11 people had been rescued from vehicles trapped in floods. One man died in a car accident.</s>Torrential rain and gale force winds lashed Australia's biggest city of Sydney on Wednesday, flooding streets, railway stations and homes, grounding flights and leaving hundreds of people without electricity.

Police called on motorists to stay off the roads. One person was killed in a car crash and two police officers were seriously injured when a tree fell on them as they helped a stranded driver.

Greg Transell, a local office manager, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that strong winds caused widespread disruption to the tower block office where he works.

"I started to go upstairs to see if there was any damage, and next minute there was an almighty bang and it ripped panels off the roof in the warehouse," said Transell.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Sydney got more than 100 millimetres of rain in just a few hours, a level the country's most populous city would normally get through the whole of November.

"That's the sort of rainfall you'd expect to see once every 100 years," Ann Farrell, the bureau's state manager, told reporters.

The rain offered a welcome respite to farmers who have suffered through a sustained drought in recent months, but it caused major transportation disruptions.

Sydney airport, the country's busiest, said 130 flights had been cancelled or delayed after it was forced to close two of its three runways.

"The storm is pretty intense in and around the airport," Cait Kyann, an airport spokesperson, told Reuters. "We are operating from a single runway, so that means that there are delays and likely some flights will be cancelled."

Ausgrid, the country's biggest electricity network, said the storm had cut power to 8,100 customers in Sydney and the Central Coast area to its north.

By late afternoon, 1,700 homes and businesses remained without power, Ausgrid said.

The storm struck only hours before morning rush hour, transforming some streets into fast-flowing rivers and parks into lakes. Several stranded motorists were plucked from rising floodwaters.

"We are asking all road users to reconsider the need to be on the roads throughout what will be a severe rain event," said Michael Corboy, New South Wales state assistant police commissioner.

In contrast, in Australia's northern state of Queensland, soaring temperatures near 40 C and strong winds exacerbated major bushfires.

Firefighters have been battling for nearly a week to contain more than 130 fires across Queensland, and 8,000 people were ordered to evacuate the city of Gracemere, about 600 kilometres north of the state capital of Brisbane.

"These are unprecedented conditions," said state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. "We have not seen the likes of this."</s>SYDNEY (Reuters) - Torrential rain and gale force winds lashed Australia’s biggest city Sydney on Wednesday causing commuter chaos, flooding streets, railway stations and homes, grounding flights and leaving hundreds of people without electricity.

Police called on Sydney motorists to stay off the roads due to the “horrendous weather”. One person was killed in a car crash during the storm and two police officers seriously injured when a tree fell on them as they assisted a stranded motorist.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said within just a few hours Sydney received more than 100mm of rain, a level that the country’s most populous city would normally receive throughout the whole of November.

Although the rains offered a welcomed respite to farmers who have suffered through a sustained drought in recent months, the weather caused major disruptions to Sydney’s infrastructure.

Sydney Airport, the country’s busiest, said it cancelled at least 20 flights after closing two of its three runways, while the majority of flights that continued suffered delays.

“The storm is pretty intense in and around the airport,” Cait Kyann, a spokeswoman from Sydney Airport, told Reuters.

“We are operating from a single runway so that means that there are delays and likely some flights will be cancelled.”

Ausgrid, the nation’s biggest electricity network, said the storm had left 8,100 customers without power around Sydney and the Central Coast area to its north.

There was chaos on Sydney’s roads as the storm struck only hours before the city’s main morning peak hour, transforming some streets in fast flowing rivers and parks into lakes. Several stranded motorists were plucked from rising floodwaters.

“We are asking all road users to reconsider the need to be on the roads throughout what will be a severe rain event today,” said New South Wales state Assistant Police Commissioner Corboy.

The BOM said the storms would last through most of the day before easing, with gale force winds whipping up four metre (12 feet) waves which are expected to pound Sydney’s beaches.

In stark contrast in Australia’s northern state of Queensland soaring temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and strong winds exacerbated major bushfires.

Firefighters have been battling for nearly a week to contain more than 80 fires across Queensland.

“We are expecting a very bad day,” Craig Crawford, fire and emergency services minister for the Queensland state government told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.

“These are the kind of days where people could lose their lives.”</s>Sydney at risk of flash flooding as BOM forecasts thunderstorms to hammer coast tomorrow

A deepening low over central New South Wales moving towards the coast has triggered warnings of possible flash flooding in Sydney from tomorrow morning, as well as flooding for the Nepean, Hawkesbury and Georges rivers.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasted strong winds, heavy rain and rough surf conditions along the coast, with the worst-hit areas likely to be the Illawarra and metropolitan Sydney, the Hunter, the Central Coast, the central tablelands and parts of the mid north.

It says damaging winds, averaging 60–70 kilometres per hour with peak gusts in excess of 90kph, are likely along the coastal Illawarra and Sydney fringe from late Wednesday morning.

Forecaster Jordan Notara said some parts of Sydney may flood.

"Sydney at the moment is looking like it may have some localised flash flooding through the northern parts of Sydney as well as southern parts and that may be due to potentially some isolated thunderstorm activity on the day," he said.

"So those areas from Wednesday will start to experience some quite significant rainfall as that low starts to deepen off the coast and as we start to go into the later part of the day, we'll see those winds start to come into play as well."

A low-pressure system is expected to enter the north-west of New South Wales on Tuesday and then track south-east, rapidly intensifying as it crosses the coast about the Greater Sydney area.

The most-intense rainfall is likely to be during Wednesday morning, but it is expected to ease late on Wednesday and early Thursday as the low-pressure system moves further offshore.

The State Emergency Service is advising that people should move vehicles away from trees, secure loose items around the house and balconies and not to drive through floodwater.</s>One person was killed in a car crash and two police officers injured after torrential rain lashed Sydney, Australia, early on Wednesday.

A series of storms swept over a large area of the New South Wales state, wreaking havoc to the morning commute in the country's largest city, with flash flooding inundating roads and delaying flights.

State Emergency Services rescued 12 people from floodwaters and responded to over 500 calls for help, according to local media.</s>Shikhar Dhawan, who is a part of the Indian team for the series in Australia, was in top form during the recently concluded T20I series. He will now be playing in the ODI series which will start after the Test series gets over

Ace Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan is relaxing in Australia between the matches as he is on a break from the Test matches and is preparing for the upcoming ODI’s. After winning the Man of the Series for the T20 matches, Shikhar Dhawan took out sometime for himself and sailed through the Sydney Harbour this morning

Shikhar Dhawan wrote, "While I’ve strolled around the spectacular Sydney Harbour several times, it is for the first time that I’ve indulged in taking a yacht ride across, and it definitely is a great way to experience the two amazing Sydney icons. During all my previous visits to Australia, I’ve always been fascinated by the natural beauty, unique wildlife, iconic attractions, and the multicultural cities. It’s easy to see why it is so popular as a holiday destination for Indians and some of my personal favourite family holiday experiences are also from Australia - including an unforgettable visit to the Great Barrier Reef, sipping the best brews in the lanes of the coffee capital of the globe – Melbourne, and meeting the world’s happiest animals – the quokka at Rottnest Island near Perth.

Shikhar Dhawan, who lives in Australia these days with his wife and kids, has become quite the local it seems.

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Flash flooding kills two people and causes major power outages in Sydney, Australia.