A large hole has opened on a busy CBD street, forcing the closure of a nearby school and cutting water supply to nearby businesses. It comes after the city was hit by flash flooding on Thursday night triggering dozens of rescues across the metropolitan area.
A burst water pipe is thought to have created the hole at the intersection of College Street and Prince Albert Road, next to St Mary’s Cathedral and Hyde Park. It has prompted Sydney Water to cut off water supply, blocking water access for toilets and other essential services for nearby buildings.
The front wheels of a Coles delivery truck fell into the hole on Friday morning, prompting an urgent rescue effort from at least two towing trucks.
St Mary’s Cathedral College, the K-12 co-education school adjoining the church, sent its high school students home on Friday morning after consulting Sydney Catholic Schools.
Principal Kerrie McDiarmid asked parents of primary school students to collect their children as soon as possible, though they would continue to be supervised until 3pm.
“We have just been informed that a sinkhole has developed in our local area, and as such Sydney Water will be shutting off water supply to the affected area which includes the College,” she wrote to parents shortly before 11.30am on Friday.
“We apologise for this inconvenience, however this is something that is out of our control.”
The incident followed a period of flash flooding on Thursday night, during which more than 100 millimetres of rain fell across Sydney’s city and south-west in three hours, triggering 42 urgent rescues and almost 500 calls for assistance across the metropolitan area.
The Sydney CBD recorded 83 millimetres of rainfall on Thursday night, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, as the city braces for further showers on Friday afternoon.
Meteorologist Jonathan How said the thunderstorms “dumped lots of rain” across Sydney, including up to 122 millimetres at Lidcombe, but was “fairly localised”, hitting some suburbs far harder than others.
“If you were right under the storm you got smashed, but if you were away from the storm you didn’t see as much rainfall … it was a compact but very powerful storm,” How said.
Emergency services responded to 34 calls in Strathfield, 21 in Greenacre, and 13 in Fairfield East.
Significant rainfall forced residents in Spring Street, Fairfield, to be evacuated as their properties were inundated, while six people were rescued at a park in nearby Vine Street, after they became stranded by rising floodwaters.
Rainfall totals on Friday aren’t expected to exceed those recorded on Thursday, and are tipped to rise over 40 millimetres if potential thunderstorms eventuate. Showers are expected to continue through the weekend and into early next week.
Sydney Water has been contacted for comment.
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.