Sinkhole opens up in Sydney's east after heavy rainfall

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Part of a cliff top road at dover heights collapsed during heavy rain last night. It's one of hundreds of jobs the new south wales s-e-s has responded to over the weekend.

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00:00 This is the end of Oceanview Avenue, or what's left of it.

00:05 Chunks of road have been swept into the ocean by a raging torrent after the cul-de-sac collapsed.

00:11 The sinkhole is about 10 metres wide.

00:13 It opened about 9 o'clock last night.

00:16 SES volunteers worked until the early hours of the morning, trying to divert water away

00:20 from homes with sandbags.

00:23 A waterfall cascaded through Colin Scott's property, flowing past his house and covering

00:27 the pool area with mud.

00:29 It was like a bomb went off.

00:30 It was just like a thud and unfortunately most of the water came down to us down below,

00:35 but it was, the house was shaking.

00:37 Today, sand, rocks and pieces of the road surface are strewn down the cliff top, forming

00:42 a path to the sea.

00:43 The sinkhole has been cordoned off and Mr Scott has lost access to his driveway.

00:48 He's criticised Waverley Council, accusing it of failing to make adequate repairs after

00:52 a landslip during heavy rain about a year and a half ago.

00:56 So yeah, look, we're just glad we're all safe and, and, um, but you know, Waverley Council,

01:01 you know, get off their butt and do something about this, you know.

01:03 The ABC has contacted the council for comment.

01:06 On the other side of Sydney, Warragamba Dam began spilling at half past seven this morning.

01:11 The city's main water supply was 98% full before the weekend and reached capacity yesterday

01:16 afternoon.

01:17 Water NSW says the Warragamba catchment received less rain than forecast, recording 28mm in

01:24 48 hours.

01:25 The SES attended more than 270 incidents in 24 hours, mostly in the southeastern region

01:31 for leaking roofs and fallen trees.

01:34 The rain is forecast to ease this evening as the weather system moves off the coast.

01:38 But this streak of wet weather isn't over yet, with a medium to high chance of showers

01:42 forecast in Sydney tomorrow.

01:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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