The North New South Wales Conference (NNSW) office in Cooranbong has been left without power and temporarily closed after a severe storm swept through the area on Wednesday evening.
The storm, which caused significant damage across Sydney and other parts of the New South Wales east coast, uprooted trees, brought down powerlines and left more than 100,000 homes and businesses across the state without electricity.
According to the NNSW Conference Work, Health and Safety coordinator Melinda Mason, two trees were uprooted during the storm, falling on the conference office car park and limiting access. No damage was reported. “Thankfully there was no damage done to any cars or fences in the vicinity. During the storm staff were safe at home,” Mrs Mason explained.
Faith FM’s Breakfast Show, which has been broadcast live from the NNSW office since 2015, was also impacted. With no power and internet access, the show wasn’t broadcast on Thursday and an old episode replaced today’s program.
“Our show is an internet stream and needs perfect internet to be able to function,” said producer Shell Southwell. “So I called it last night and organised an old episode to be played this morning (Friday). Praise the Lord that was the right call. We are hoping to be live again on Monday.”
With power restoration estimated by Ausgrid to occur on Sunday, most NNSW office staff will continue working from home until normal operations can resume. “We are working diligently to resume normal operations and plan to return to our regular schedule starting Monday next week,” said NNSW secretary Pastor Abel Iorgulescu.
He also extended his sympathies to those affected by the storm. “We are saddened by the devastating effects of the recent storm on so many individuals and communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been significantly impacted during this challenging time.”
