Entertainment

Giant hailstones rain down on Sydney in remarkable footage

The deluge caused a huge amount of damage.
The deluge caused a huge amount of damage.

A “catastrophic” hailstorm in Sydney, Australia, has hit the city with tennis ball-sized hailstones.

The deluge caused a huge amount of damage as it battered hundreds of miles of coastline in New South Wales.

Footage taken by journalist Emily O’Brien shows the impact of the hail as it landed in her swimming pool.

Pictures she shared show the sheer size of some of the hailstones, some of which also smashed the sunroof on her car.

The damage caused by the hailstorm, which affected buildings as well as cars, led the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) to call it a “catastrophe”.

On Bondi Beach, surfers were filmed using their boards as shelter as the hail fell.

Some hailstones have been measured as wide as 8cm (3.1 inches).

An ICA spokesman told ABC News they believe the bill for damage caused by the hail is likely to be in the tens of millions of Australian dollars.

“It won’t be known for some days, or even several weeks,” said the ICA’s Campbell Fuller.

“Residents and businesses are prioritising making their properties safe, and they’ll contact their insurers when they get to it.”