NSW SES responding to calls in Illawara and Shoalhaven regions

Wild winds have battered parts of NSW, with Wollongong recording gusts of 115 kilometres an hour.

Transcript

00:00Dangerous gale force winds have whipped the Illawarra South Coast into a frenzy this morning

00:06with more than a hundred reports of trees down on homes, roads, train lines and power lines.

00:12A short time ago a building here behind me in Wollongong CBD had its roof ripped off

00:17with gusts of up to 117 kilometres an hour lashing the city and its surrounds.

00:23The SES are hard at work this morning with more than 230 calls for assistance

00:28with people waking to damage to properties and trees down on roads.

00:32Endeavour Energy says crews are working to restore the power to more than 12,000 homes

00:37across the Illawarra South Coast after the wild weather overnight battered the substation at Yunandera

00:42and of course trees down on power lines.

00:45A number of roads are closed across Wollongong including the streets here behind me

00:49and the train lines are not running from Bulambi and Kayama due to a tree down on the train lines

00:55as emergency crews work to rectify the situation.

00:57The message from emergency crews for everyone across the region is to stay safe and drive to the conditions.