A woman was spotted using the pokies in a flooded venue as wild storms lashed Australia’s south-east.
The woman was one of many Aussies caught in severe storms which hit Sydney and wider New South Wales on Thursday.
The system claimed the life of a man, aged in his 80s, in the state’s Central West.
He was driving on Lachlan Valley Way in Cowra when a tree fell on his vehicle, killing him at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
State Emergency Service (SES) received more than 2,250 calls for assistance and responded to over 1,800 incidents in the last 24 hours.
Several residents also remain without power with more than 140,000 power outages and 300 facing electrical hazards.
However, the wild weather isn’t over yet.
Severe thunderstorms are forecast to combined with a low pressure system from Thursday to Saturday, causing significant rain across Australia’s east.
A woman was seen gambling in the middle of a flooded venue amid widespread storms in NSW

The woman was one of many Aussies caught in severe storms which hit Sydney and wider New South Wales on Thursday
‘This setup is likely to cause rain and thunderstorms from Queensland down to Victoria on Wednesday, with a few storms also possible in Tasmania and South Australia,’ Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
‘Storm activity will persist overnight Wednesday into Thursday in some areas, with further storms expected to develop over parts of NSW and Queensland during Thursday and possibly Friday.
‘Dangerous storms will continue over parts of eastern Australia on Thursday, although the focus of the storms will contract to northeast NSW and southeast Queensland.’
A flood watch has been issued for the Orara, Coffs Coast, Bellinger and Kalang River Catchments, Manning and Gloucester, Myall River, Karuah River, Wollombi Brook and Lower Hunter, and Paterson and Williams River, with minor flooding possible.
An unstable air mass combined with an upper trough caused the wild weather across large parts of NSW late Wednesday, leaving behind a trail of destruction in its wake.
Damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall smashed not only Sydney but also the Hunter, the Mid North Coast, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, North West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands districts.
Wind gusts exceeding 100km/h were reported at Sydney Airport, Kurnell, Scone, Murrurindi Gap, Tamworth, Merriwa, Dubbo, Mullion, Bombala, Trangie, Cowra, Walgett, Cabrumurra and Wagga Wagga.
Storms Wagga Wagga, in the state’s Riverina, saw people injured, property damaged and crops destroyed.

More than 200,000 homes across Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong were without power after lighting strikes

Severe lightning and thunderstorm caused the A-League Women’s match between Sydney FC and Canberra United to be abandoned. Pictured are fans leaving Leichhardt Oval
Multiple campers were injured when their demountable huts flipped in high winds at Bomen while trees fell onto vehicles at Tarcutta near Wagga Wagga.
SES crews received more than 200 calls for help in the region.
Sydney Airport was forced to temporarily ground all flights.
Arriving flights were diverted to other airports and departing aircraft were returned to their gates.
‘Due to heavy storm activity, there have been flight delays, cancellations and diversions,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
Power outages also brought light rail services to a halt in the CBD between Town Hall and Circular Quay.
Stranded commuters were advised to walk or use alternative transport.
Multiple train stations were also left without power after a day of rail chaos, including Lidcombe, Cabramatta and Flemington.

A 120 km/h wind gust was recorded near Newcastle Airport at 9:22pm

Damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall smashed not only Sydney but also the Hunter, the Mid North Coast, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, North West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands
Town Hall train station was flooded while T9 services were suspended between Epping and Hornsby after a tree fell onto wiring at Normanhurst.
The A-League women’s game between Sydney FC and Canberra United at Leichhardt Oval was suspended mid-match due to a pitch blackout and abandoned shortly afterwards. The Sky Blues were leading 2-0 at the time.
Sydneysiders took to social media to describe the chaos, saying they’d ‘never seen anything like this’ in the city.
One woman recorded a video of rain flying sideways due to strong winds in the city’s outer suburbs.
Another filmed the storm’s front as lightning could be seen illuminating the sky over and over.
‘I can’t think of the last time I saw a storm like this. The lightning is insane,’ he wrote.
‘Did anyone order an apocalypse,’ another man asked.
Sheep graziers in the state’s south and ACT are warned that cold temperatures, rain and south to southwesterly winds will continue on Thursday.
‘Areas likely to be affected include the Snowy Mountains forecast district and parts of the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and Australian Capital Territory. There is a risk of losses of lambs and sheep exposed to these conditions,’ an alert stated.
Heavy rainfall was forecast to continue in the Illawarra, South Coast and Southern Tablelands regions.
A hazardous surf warning has been issued for the NSW coast stretching from the Hunter in the north to Batemans Bay in the south.

Few part of NSW were spared from the wild weather on Wednesday. Pictured is Newcastle on Wednesday night
Sydney
Thursday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 8mm of rain. Winds up to 40km/h. Min 19C Max 26C.
Friday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 9mm of rain. Winds up to 55km/h. Min 18C Max 24C.
Saturday: Showers. Up to 10mm of rain. Winds up to 40km/h. Min 18C Max 25C.
Melbourne
Thursday: Shower or two. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 23C Max 37C.
Friday: Possible shower. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 21C Max 31C.
Saturday: Possible shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min21C Max 31C.
Brisbane
Thursday: Shower or two. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 23C Max 37C.
Friday: Possible shower. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 21C Max 31C.
Saturday: Possible shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 21C Max 31C.
Canberra
Thursday: Possible shower. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 13C Max 25C.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 10C Max 24C.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Min 11C Max 22C.
Adelaide
Thursday: Cloudy. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 15C Max 25C.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 17C Max 30C.
Saturday: Sunny. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 17C Max 32C.
Hobart
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 15C Max 22C.
Friday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 15C Max 20C.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 13C Max 20C.
Perth
Thursday: Sunny. Winds up to 35km/h. Min 19C Max 40C.
Friday: Shower or two. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 5mm of rain. Winds up to 35km/h. Min 22C Max 30C.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 17C Max 26C.
Darwin
Thursday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 35mm of rain. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 25C Max 32C.
Friday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 35mm of rain. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 25C Max 32C.
Saturday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 30mm of rain. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 25C Max 32C.
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