The photo that reveals why tens of thousands of homes are still without power - as electricity provider admits residents could be in the dark for four days
- Nearly 100,000 Sydneysiders remain without power after weekend storms
- Ausgrid restored electricity to 61,000 homes, but 79,000 still don't have power
- It was restored in Sydney's north, the eastern suburbs, south and south west
- Endeavour Energy is continuing to restore power to 16,500 customers
- Sunday's wild weather interrupted power to 93,000 homes and businesses
Nearly 100,000 Sydneysiders remain without power after the city experienced its heaviest rainfall in up to three decades - and some homes will be in the dark for days.
While Ausgrid said electricity has been restored to 61,000 customers, 79,000 still don't have power.
The power was restored to homes primarily in Sydney's north, the northern beaches, eastern suburbs, south and south-west, and the Central Coast and Newcastle.
But the electricity company warned some residents could be kept in the dark 'for the next few days as we recover from the storm'.
Meanwhile Endeavour Energy is continuing to restore electricity to 16,500 customers, after Sunday's wild weather interrupted power to 93,000 homes and businesses.
Endeavour Energy is continuing to restore power to 16,500 customers, after Sunday's wild weather interrupted power to 93,000 homes and businesses
While Ausgrid said electricity has been restored to 61,000 customers, 79,000 still don't have power
'While 76,500 customers are back on, there is many hours of work still needed to repair the 1,150 electrical hazards on the network,' the company said on Monday afternoon.
The energy operator shared a photo of Carlingford Transmission Substation which completely flooded from Sunday's torrential rain.
Sydney saw its heaviest rain in up to 30 years over the weekend, while residents were told to bunker down amid gale force winds that brought trees down.
Dam levels across greater Sydney have risen by more than 20 per cent thanks to the heavy weekend rainfall, with enough water for as much as 150,000 Olympic-size swimming pools flowing into Warragamba Dam.
Water NSW data on Monday morning showed that greater Sydney dam levels were at 64.2 per cent, up from 41.9 per cent in seven days.
Sydney saw its heaviest rain in up to 30 years over the weekend, while residents were told to bunker down amid gale force winds that brought trees down
Robertson in the Southern Highlands received the biggest rainfall in the state, getting 698mm since Wednesday as of 9am Monday - 500mm on the weekend alone.
Castle Cove was the wettest area in Sydney, recording 456mm since Wednesday, while Sydney itself received 391.6mm, its wettest four-day period since 1990.
Byron Bay in the north recorded more than 300mm, while parts of the south coast recorded 150mm to 200mm.
The Rural Fire Service said the rain helped firefighters extinguish more than 30 fires, some of which had been burning for months.
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They include the Gospers Mountain megablaze northwest of Sydney, the large Green Wattle Creek fire southwest of Sydney and the Currowan blaze which ravaged the south.
There were 26 fires left burning in NSW on Monday afternoon, all at the lowest alert level.
Some drought-affected communities in the Southern Tablelands, northwest and central west of the state have welcomed rain, but the Bureau of Meteorology says it will take prolonged follow-up falls to break the drought.
The ACT and Southern Tablelands received about 60mm of widespread rain in the 24 hours to Monday morning.
Areas around Tamworth, Moree and Dubbo have had thunderstorms over the past week but rainfall has varied, with some areas getting 50mm-100mm over seven days and others receiving a lot less.
Ausgrid warned Sydney residents could be kept in the dark 'for the next few days as we recover from the storm'
