Three injured as tornado tears through Central West NSW
A rare tornado has ripped through the NSW Central West, destroying property and causing multiple injuries.
The tornado hit Clear Creek, north-east of Bathurst, this afternoon, whipping up debris and damaging homes.
Photos and videos show a huge dark cloud covering the sky with the base of the tornado creating a flurry of damage in its wake.
The tornado left a trail of destruction for kilometres, smashing windows, tearing roofs off and completely flattening some properties.
Kathy Jones and her family could only watch as the destructive force hit her home, smashing windows and flinging furniture into the garden.
“It took the house … the roof … trampoline up a tree,” she told 9News.
“You always think you can hide under the bed but there was glass everywhere.”
The village of Meadow Flat was also smashed, with corrugated iron roofs ripped away and more homes destroyed.
At least three people in the region were injured, NSW Ambulance said.
A 47-year-old man suffered cuts to his arm at the property destroyed by the tornado at Curly Dick Rd Meadow Flat east of Bathurst. He was taken to Orange Hospital for observation.
A woman suffered neck and back injuries at a property on Limekilns Road Clear Creek north of Bathurst, and she was taken to Bathurst Hospital.
A man at the same location suffered cuts to his face but didn’t need to go to hospital.
“It’s not every day you get called out to a tornado and this one packed quite a punch,” NSW Ambulance Inspector Meah Ferguson said.
“When we arrived on scene we found extensive damage to the patient’s dwelling and surrounding areas.”
“When you look at the kind of damage the tornado caused, it’s lucky the patient escaped with relatively minor injuries.”
The NSW Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) confirmed the system is in fact a tornado, and said there are severe storm warnings in place for much of the state.
