One golfer died and two others were injured after being struck by lightning as storms lashed eastern Australia Thursday.
A 65-year-old man was playing golf with two friends at Hawks Nest Golf Club, north of Newcastle, when he was struck at about 12:50 p.m. local time.
He went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene.
His two playing partners, both also aged 65, were flown to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital in stable condition, suffering peripheral electric shock injuries.
A severe thunderstorm warning was put in place for Sydney, with damaging winds forecast.
In Penrith, in western Sydney, several buildings suffered partial roof collapses as the thunderstorm passed over, dumping about 1.1 inches (30mm) of rain in just 15 minutes.
Up to 600 patrons at the Penrith Panthers club had to be evacuated after part of the roof collapsed, while the neighboring Chifley Hotel was also damaged.
The State Emergency Service (SES) was also responding to a number of flash-flooding incidents.
The SES has received numerous calls for assistance from residents, mainly regarding leaking roofs, but are bracing for more as the storm front continues to move across the city.
In Queensland, more than 40,000 homes were without power after a wild storm front ravaged the state's southeast, The Courier-Mail reported.
