Updated
Eight people have been injured after a storm that has been described as a "mini tornado" hit a shopping centre, library and train station in Sydney's north.
Emergency services were called to the Westfield complex in Hornsby just before 3:00pm (AEDT) this afternoon following reports the roof of the cinema collapsed in severe weather.
The shopping centre was evacuated and Fire and Rescue crews searched the building.
Emergency services initially feared people may be trapped, but crews have now confirmed that nobody was inside the building at the time of the collapse.
The movie had just finished and people had left the cinema when the storm hit.
Superintendant Graham Jarrett from Fire and Rescue says the seats and floor of the cinema are covered in glass and debris.
"I think there would have been significant casualties had there people inside that area at the time," he said.
Angela lives near the Westfield shopping centre and saw part of the cinema's roof being torn off.
"Debris sort of going up in a spiral into the sky so it looked like a mini tornado," she said.
Heather was inside the shopping centre at the time.
"There was this noise like a roar almost and we sort of all stood still," she said.
The Ambulance Service has revised the number of patients injured at the Westfield complex from six to two.
Among the injured was a 50-year-old woman who was hit in the face by glass.
Paramedics have treated six other patients after the storm hit the Hornsby library and train station where a demountable building was blown over.
Traffic was very heavy around the area and motorists were delayed.
Topics: emergency-incidents, storm-disaster, hornsby-2077
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