‘Gives everyone a bit more hope’: NSW grateful for wild weather reprieve but many face damage worth thousands

Workers stabilise Wamberal beach in NSW, as the cleanup begins along the east coast following days of heavy rain and wind. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

After days of torrential rain and damaging winds, a break in the wild weather has provided a much-needed reprieve for residents of New South Wales.

A “vigorous coastal low” wreaked havoc on Australia’s east coast this week, drenching catchments, leaving thousands without power, causing flight cancellations and fuelling dangerous ocean swells with waves as high as 13 metres.