Heaviest rain in 50 years for some
Humid and unstable north-easterly winds will continue through the week in Sydney with more thunderstorms expected on Thursday.
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FALLEN trees posed the most common hazard during storms that lashed the state last week, but experts say the danger is overstated.
Heavy rain and winds felled trees and branches across Sydney, the Illawarra and the central and north coasts.
Trees triggered 2500 calls for assistance to the State Emergency Service over six days - almost half the calls received.
Storm damage at Kiama. Image supplied by SES NSW.
They damaged roofs, cars and power lines, an SES spokeswoman, Sue Pritchard, said.
"When it is wet and windy often the whole tree goes over … the whole thing comes out of the ground," she said.
"Threatening" trees prompted another 400 calls for help, but volunteers could not remove trees unless they were damaged, Ms Pritchard said.
"We can't cut a tree that is just waving around. Otherwise you'd be crossing boundaries with council regulations," she said.
NSW councils have been on high alert for dangerous trees since the death of Gordon Timbs, who died instantly when a 25-metre spotted gum fell on his house in South Nowra during a windstorm in 1998.
Mr Timbs had previously asked Shoalhaven City Council for permission to cut down the tree, which he believed was unsafe but the council refused. A court found the council was liable for his death and his wife was awarded almost $750,000 in damages.
Ku-ring-gai Council received 1500 applications for tree works last financial year, for those on private property. They are usually assessed within a month.
Leichhardt Council received 370 requests for assessment or removal and it inspects trees within about 25 days. Applications to Randwick Council are "generally assessed within two or three days", a spokeswoman said.
Willoughby Council received 625 requests last year and assessment can take up to 10 days.
Antony Osborn, of Sydney Arborist, said despite recent incidents, "a tree is not just going to fall on your house".
"A healthy tree shouldn't really fall over. I think trees are misunderstood in that way," he said.
Mark Hartley, a senior arborist at The Arborist Network, said many tree failures could be predicted. Warning signs include a thinning canopy and mounding in the ground, he said.
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