Video has captured the wild moment ferry passengers were swept off their feet by monster waves as the Manly Ferry braved giant swells on Sydney Harbour.
The week of wild weather in Sydney has officially been declared a national disaster, with people and a car crushed by a fallen tree and thousands left without power.
A stomach-turning video captured on the iconic Manly Ferry showed the boat ploughing through waves on Friday as it crossed the heads in Sydney.
The decks were covered with surges of seawater, with two passengers knocked down and swept along by one of the waves.
Photographer Manly Drone also filmed the ferry in action on Friday morning, pitching with the waves as passengers desperately clung to the railings.
Eventually, even the stalwart Manly service had to be grounded in the afternoon, along with Mosman Bay, Blackwattle Bay and Taronga Zoo services.
Swells up to five metres were reported at Manly, Coogee and Bondi beaches.
Thousands of Sydneysiders were also left without power due to the wild winds.
A stomach-turning video taken on the iconic Manly ferry on Friday showed the boat being pummelled by waves as it crossed the Sydney heads (pictured)
Two passengers were knocked down as the decks filled with seawater (pictured)
Passengers were seen bracing themselves as the monster waves rolled in (pictured)
Passengers clung to the railings as the ferry ploughed across Sydney Harbour
Wind gusts of up to 100km/h throughout the week cut power to more than 100,000 Sydney customers, and 40,000 were still without electricity on Saturday morning, Ausgrid said.
Another 12,000 customers were without power in Newcastle and the Hunter regions, along with 8,000 in Port Stephens.
The NSW State Emergency Service received 2,825 calls for help on Friday night, including four flood rescues.
Warnings are in place for communities and campers northwest of Newcastle, downstream of the Chichester Dam.
‘We do currently have some communities and some locations that are becoming isolated, and the warnings reflect that, and we’re very closely engaged with the local communities,’ SES commissioner Michael Wassing told reporters on Saturday.
‘Most of our other calls are associated with significant storming impact around the Sydney area, particularly North Sydney.’
On Friday afternoon at least two people were injured when a large fig tree in Hyde Park crashed to the ground across a footpath and onto a busy street.
Two people suffering minor injuries were transported to the nearby St Vincent’s Hospital for treatment, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said.
Photos also showed a car crushed by a tree in Kingsgrove in southern Sydney
The tree was uprooted with such force that it displaced the paving on the footpath
On Friday afternoon at least two people were injured when a large fig tree in Hyde Park crashed to the ground across a footpath and onto a busy street (pictured)
Photos also showed a car crushed by a tree on Homer St in Kingsgove, southern Sydney.
The tree was uprooted with such force that it displaced the paving on the footpath.
And earlier in the week, a man in his 80s was killed when a tree fell on his car overnight in the state’s central west.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister has declared the wild weather a natural disaster in Maitland, Port Stephens and Snowy Valleys, with disaster payments for families and businesses affected.
‘The assistance activated today will ensure communities can access essential supplies and accommodation and ensure councils can start clean up and repairs,’ Minister McAllister said.
‘This is a time when individuals need to think about their own risks and listen to advice.’
Heavy rainfall and damaging winds were set to ease off on Saturday afternoon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Rainfalls up to 120mm could fall in alpine areas across NSW.
Hazardous surf warnings will remain in place for the Sydney and Illawarra coasts.
In Western Australia, a tropical low is likely to from north of Pilbara, with a high chance of becoming a tropical cyclone.
Damaging winds may develop on coastal and island communities between De Grey and Dampier from early Sunday, extending to Exmouth on Sunday night.
While the expected cyclone will move offshore before it develops, large waves could cause minor flooding between De Grey and Exmouth.