A "bomb cyclone" has lashed Australia's most populous state with heavy rain and strong winds, forcing airlines to cancel domestic flights and prompting evacuation warnings in coastal communities. Authorities on Tuesday warned that parts of New South Wales could also expect the wild weather to worsen in the next 24 hours,

The effect of a "bomb cyclone" around the New South Wales coastline is being felt north, in Queensland. Parts of the state experienced wind gusts averaging between 60 and 70 kilometres an hour overnight. Unlike in New South Wales, it is bringing cold but dry conditions to much of the state that could continue until Monday.

Wild winds of up to 100km/h were set to slam South East Queensland overnight as icy blasts from the “cyclone bomb” that battered NSW also hit the Sunshine State, wreaking havoc on power, flights and trains.