Asbestos found in Kiama flood debris - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

Asbestos has been found in flood debris on the NSW south coast after buildings and homes were destroyed by the weekend's wild weather.

Kiama residents are still recovering from the gale force winds that ripped through the town in the early hours of Sunday, destroying three homes and extensively damaging seven others.

The State Emergency Service (SES) says much of the debris in Kiama has been contaminated with asbestos.

The Kiama Leisure Centre will remain closed indefinitely after its asbestos roof was badly damaged, the Illawarra Mercury reports.

Locals have described their terror as the storm hit.

Therese Coogan said it was like a train going through her bedroom and Juliet van Dyke said she was terrified.

"I thought it was the end of the world," Ms van Dyke told the ABC.

"It was like an explosion when simultaneously the roof off the house and their walls fell down, smashed through two windows, blew them in, picked up everything in its path and then went out another window on the other side."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is expected to visit Kiama later on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Kempsey Liz Campbell will meet with deputy Premier Andrew Stoner when he visits flood-affected areas on the mid-north coast on Monday morning.

"The total impact for this region is looking disastrous," Cr Campbell told ABC TV.

Weather conditions are continuing to ease across the state with river levels falling.

However, about 26,354 people remaining cut off in 39 separate communities, the SES says.

In Sydney, spillage from Warragamba Dam is feeding into floodwaters from the Nepean and Grose Rivers and could result in minor flooding at Penrith and Richmond, closing local ferry services and cutting bridges.

The worst-affected areas for weekend storm damage were around Kiama and the Sydney suburbs of Malabar and Narellan.

A total of 2224 requests for assistance were received by NSW SES crews in and around Sydney and 390 in the Illawarra.

Some properties in Sydney, the Central Coast, and the Southern Highlands are still without power.

Kiama Mayor Brian Petschler said an asbestos removal firm was working on getting rid of the asbestos.

"Most of it is bonded, which means it hasn't broken down into fibre," Mr Petschler told AAP.

But he said there were concerns about public areas like roadways.

"If vehicles travel over or people walk on it, it can break down," he said.

"But we've already cleaned up most of it and it appears the problem is receding."

Mr Petschler said the asbestos came from old buildings and the town's leisure centre, which was built in the early 1980s or early 1970s.

Residents were "still in shock" after the storms, he said.

Meanwhile, the people of Wagga Wagga have recalled their experience of devastating floods 12 months ago for an oral history collection to be launched by the State Library of NSW at Wagga Wagga City Library on Monday.