Sydney, Australia - January 16, 2025 On January 16, X user Noah published a video showing the powerful storm that struck Sydney, leaving widespread damage across New South Wales. Severe thunderstorms battered Sydney and parts of the state's north-east, north-west, and central west, including Newcastle and Wollongong, with NSW SES receiving over 2,250 calls for assistance and responding to more than 1,800 incidents overnight. More than 140,000 homes lost power in the past 24 hours. In Mudgee, a home was completely destroyed after a downed power pole sparked a fire. Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Superintendent Matt Sigmund confirmed crews brought the blaze under control just before midnight, preventing the flames from spreading to nearby properties. In Dubbo, fire crews responded to Eden Park where lightning struck a tree near a leaking gas pipe, forcing the area to close for an hour while the fire was contained and the gas leak isolated. Upper Hunter farmer Cheryl Clydsdale described the devastation on her property, where the storm demolished her hay shed. "We got up this morning just on daylight to find our beautiful big hay shed totally smashed to the ground," she said.