CAR accidents, an electrical fire and flood damage – it was a very busy night for Bathurst’s emergency services.
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A severe thunderstorm swept through Bathurst on Monday evening and initially left more than 4500 customers without power.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued a severe weather warning at 2.52pm and said that the thunderstorm would bring heavy rain and damaging winds.
Data from the BOM shows the rain began falling at 6.07pm, and by 8pm, 27.6mm had been recorded in the Bureau’s gauge at Bathurst Airport.
Along with the rains came strong winds, with the peak gusts recorded at 63km/h.
There was a two-car accident on the corner of Gilmour Street and Marsden Lane during the heavy deluge. There were no injuries to anyone in the vehicles.
Lightning during the storm struck an electrical kiosk on Howick Street causing a fire to ignite.
The weather also resulted in a number of fire alarms activating across the city and Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews sent scrambling.
Crews from Kelso were called to Simplot for one of those alarms, but upon arrival discovered significant flooding.
“It was through the administration area, the cafe and the offices,” Captain Scott Wilson said.
“They were inundated.”
FRNSW Station Officer Chris Sanders was among the crews to be tasked across the city during the storm.
“Numerous automatic fire alarms went off at the uni, at the court house and there was minor flooding,” he said.
“We had five calls at almost the same time.”
Station Officers Sanders said heavy rain and lightning could have an impact on fire alarms in some buildings.
“Lightning can cause a blackout and it can cause a power surge or it can be a little bit of water getting into it [the fire alarm],” he said.
“Every available fire and Rescue NSW resource was out.”
Bathurst SES took to its Facebook page to urge the community to be patient due to the high volume of calls for help.
“Bathurst unit has experienced a large amount of calls in the last hour, there are many jobs to complete. Please be patient with our crews, and call 000 if there is an emergency,” the post read.
By 7.15am on Tuesday, more than 1600 were still without power.