Two people have been hospitalised after they were struck by lightning at a popular lookout spot in the Blue Mountains.
Three women and a man in their 20s were holding onto a metal railing on the Three Sisters Track when a bolt of lightning hit them at 3.15pm yesterday, a spokesman for NSW Ambulance said.
A 22-year-old woman fell and injured her head.
All four managed to walk to a nearby visitor centre where a staff member called an ambulance. The group was then transported to Katoomba Hospital where two of the women were admitted.
Of the group, the 22-year-old woman with head injuries remained in hospital as of this morning.
The storm reportedly came “almost without warning”, according to Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill.
“It just came in incredibly quickly and the ferocity was something to behold. It seems Katoomba caught the brunt of it,” he told the ABC.
He later said yesterday’s storm had caused “chaos” and warned people to remain vigilant.
“You have probably noticed the sky already but we are expecting another storm through the Blue Mountains very shortly,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“Please be really careful. Avoid outdoor areas. Exercise great caution on the roads.
“We are all hoping it isn’t as extreme as yesterday’s event, but we just cannot be certain.”
Greenhill said the storm had also caused damage to an information centre building at the Katoomba lookout. He said water was leaking through the roof and the damage was “significant.”
The Bureau of Meteorology has said that the thunderstorms could continue until midnight tonight.
In a warning issued online, it said thunderstorms were likely to produce heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding and damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours. People have been advised to stay vigilant and monitor conditions.
