Moruya has been blasted by gale-force winds as the Bureau of Meteorology recorded the highest wind speeds for the town in more than a year.
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On Monday, October 30, temperatures at Moruya Airport reached 30.6 degrees as northwesterly winds gradually picked up speed and peaked in the late afternoon.
The Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) daily weather observations recorded a wind speed shortly after 5pm of 74km/h.
The intense weather came as the bureau issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds for large parts of the South Coast, Illawarra, Southern Tablelands and the ACT for October 30.
Skydive Oz is based just a few hundreds metres away from the Moruya Airport and timed their rotational closure to avoid the severe weather.
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"We're on a four-day closure at the moment - it's not safe to jump during this weather," a spokesperson from the business said.
According to historical data recorded by BOM, the Moruya Airport has not seen winds that strong since before September 2022.
On Monday, BOM's weather warning suggested winds up to 90km/h could affect the Snowy Mountains district before extending to parts of the South Coast in the afternoon.
SES Local Commander in the Eurobodalla Mike Day said Batemans Bay and Moruya units were called to assist two weather-related incidents shortly after 5pm when the wind speed had peaked.
A large tree had damaged a house and garage in Broulee after it fell across a driveway and a Batehaven motel suffered extensive roof damage.
Community members also shared pictures of fallen trees blocking public paths in Tuross Head.
Mr Day said the units were expecting more callouts, given the severity of BOM's weather warning.
"The motel had a few panels measuring a metre wide by a few metres long blown off its roof. There were no evacuations, just some temporary weather proofing before the trades got involved," he said.
Although wind conditions eased on Tuesday, Mr Day said Eurobodalla residents should consider securing loose items.
"It can be too little, too late when it's blowing a gale", he said, "Items like trampolines can become airborne and fly into neighbour's yards".
"Doing little things can go a long way."
On Tuesday, BOM recorded southerly wind speeds of up to 50km/h with 61km/h gusts in Narooma.
Mr Day said people should also avoid doing maintenance on rooves and gutters during dangerous weather conditions.
He said if residents need help after a weather event, they can call the local SES unit on 132 500. In an emergency, call 000.
Despite strong northwesterly winds affecting most of the Eurobodalla, no major bushfires were recorded in the region.
On Monday and Tuesday, RFS brigades across the South Coast were on alert as the region sweltered through another 'high' fire danger rating.
For all the latest weather warnings, visit bom.gov.au.
Megan McClelland
Megan McClelland is a journalist for Australian Community Media working in the Eurobodalla. Email: megan.mcclelland@austcommunitymedia.com.au Mobile: 0448194726
Megan McClelland is a journalist for Australian Community Media working in the Eurobodalla. Email: megan.mcclelland@austcommunitymedia.com.au Mobile: 0448194726
