This is what the tiled roof of an Oatley home looked like after a large tree fell on it during fierce winds and drenching rain on Sunday night.
Kogarah SES volunteers worked through the night, with the assistance of an aerial platform from Fire and Rescue NSW at Kogarah, to place a tarpaulin over the roof to prevent further rain damage.
John Rodger, deputy commander of Kogarah SES, said, "Because the roof had sustained such damage, it was structurally unsound and too dangerous for our volunteers to go up there".
A 20 tonne crane was brought in to remove the fallen tree from the house in Hurstville Avenue.
"We were at Rockdale about 8pm on Sunday when we received a report a large tree on the council strip had fallen on to a house and a person was inside," Mr Rodger said.
"The resident was an elderly Asian gentleman, whose first language was not English, which made communication a bit difficult.
"We told him there was structural damage to the building and he could not stay in it. We finally persuaded him to come out.
"We contacted his son, who came over and translated and took care of his father. We assisted in getting some gear together for him to take.
"Ausgrid came out and did some work on the power lines and we also called Sydney Water because a water main was broken when the tree fell."
Kogarah SES volunteers attended 10 jobs during the weather event, and Hurstville SES was also very busy.