Four people have been knocked unconscious and hospitalised after a bolt of lighting strike a tree outside Sydney’s Botanical Gardens.
The group was taking shelter under a tree near the Sydney Opera House as it was struck.
Paramedics at the scene said they didn’t know if the group were directly hit. All four are in stable condition.
Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The New South Wales Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:
The chance of severe thunderstorms are predicted to continue through the week, with warnings for heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
More than 19,000 homes and business across Northern Sydney in the Hunter Region lost power, and Ausgrid reports the area have had 19 unplanned outages.
Ausgrid said more outages are expected, but power should be restored within hours.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on LiSTNR today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.