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Australia weather



Severe thunderstorms start fire in central Sydney









An electrical substation in Pyrmont caught fire after a lightning strike, among 80 storm-related emergencies

















Storm clouds seen from a car travelling on Anzac bridge in Sydney, on Thursday. Photograph: DEAN LEWINS/AAPIMAGE



Australian Associated Press


Wednesday 3 December 2014 03.55 EST







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An inner city electrical substation caught fire as severe thunderstorms hit Sydney causing flight and traffic delays.
Fire crews were battling to put out the blaze, which started after a lightning strike, in Pyrmont.
Around three-quarters of the state’s fire and rescue crews were responding to more than 80 storm-related incidents across the Sydney metro area, including trees and powerlines being down and flooding.
It comes after the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning on Wednesday afternoon for areas near Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park and Richmond.
The bureau warned the storm was moving towards the north-east and was forecast to hit Hornsby, Sydney city, the Harbour Bridge and the northern beaches.
Electricity was cut to 13,000 homes in the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Southern Highlands and western Sydney regions.
The storms also caused some delays to flights out of Sydney airport, with Qantas and Virgin confirming that its domestic and international runways had closed at 5.15pm. 
Qantas said about 10 flights had been affected, some by up to two hours. 
By 7pm, a Virgin spokeswoman said its flights had returned to normal with the runways reopening.



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