Tornado smashes NSW north coastA tornado destroyed homes and caused multiple injuries as it smashed into the north coast of New South Wales at Lennox Head this morning.
Police say a number of homes have been destroyed, powerlines are down and several caravans have been overturned. Paramedics say several people have been injured in the storm but no-one is missing.
New South Wales Premier Kristina Kenneally says the tornado, which one witness said was "like a bomb", destroyed at least 12 homes in the coastal town.
The weather bureau has cancelled its severe thunderstorm warning for the region but still has a severe weather warning in place.
Bureau of Meteorology severe weather meteorologist Andrew Haigh said the tornado moved north from Lennox Head to Byron Bay before heading offshore again.
"It's heading further offshore now and that's where it will stay," he said.
Mr Haigh said the tornado - "a fast rotating column of air" - was about 100 metres wide.
"It's very unusual for this time of year, that's for sure," he said.
The low pressure system is moving south, dumping large amounts of rain but the bureau says Lennox Head has now seen the worst of it.
But it warns that anywhere south of Yamba and Byron Bay has the potential to see flash flooding.
Residents are being urged to call the State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500 if they need assistance.
Callers to ABC North Coast reported falls of more than 270 millimetres of rain in the area this morning.
Lennox Head resident Andy Brown said he saw the twister crossing the coast about 7:30am (AEST).
"It sounded like a jet was coming in to land on our house," he said.
"The spiralling of the material just being ripped out the roofs as you would see in a tornado in America but just on a smaller scale.
"[There were] sheets of roofing spinning into the air and anything else that it can pick up. It's hard to explain.
"A friend of ours has been injured and they can't get out; no ambulances can get in because of the powerlines."
Like a bomb
Another witness, Steve, said: "It looks like a bomb has gone off in parts of Lennox Head. It's really quite shocking."
A mother and daughter have been taken to hospital with minor head injuries caused by flying debris.
The ambulance service has set up a triage area at the Lennox Head Bowling Club to treat the injured.
An evacuation centre has been set up at the town's Sports and Recreation Club for residents requiring temporary accommodation.
Robert Hatcher, who was working at the local service station when the storm hit, said it was like "a big steam train coming".
"I looked out the door and just off the terrace of the beach you could see debris and stuff starting to float up into the sky," he said.
"Then it got really bad and then it started hitting the houses just north of the hotel and it took all the roofs off houses, boats off trailers, knocked down fences, sheds.
"Iron and that was just flying as high as you could see in the sky."
The ambulance service says it has taken multiple calls for assistance from people injured in the storm.
It says three people were able to free themselves from cars which were stuck in flood waters at Uralba, inland from Ballina.
They did not need treatment from paramedics.
Devastation
Jayden Allen, 16, lives a five-minute drive from the centre of Lennox Head, and he says the aftermath is devastating.
He says some buildings are very badly damaged.
"There was one that had completely collapsed on the side," he told ABC News Online.
"There was another where a chimney had completely fallen on the road.
"There's trees, debris, sheets of roofing all over the road.
"We went down to the town, there's a hell of a lot of cops and there's a few fire engines."
He says shocked locals are "standing there, devastated".
"They don't know what to do," he said.
Mr Allen says it was raining really heavily all last night, and he was at home when the tornado hit.
"We could hear the wind and everything," he said.
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Video clip of tornado damaging homes
Lennox Tornado June
