NSW SES Wollongong Unit

05/09/2026

⚠️ Severe Weather Warning
for DAMAGING WINDS ⚠️

📍issued for Illawarra and parts of NSW and ACT at 2:59 pm Sat 5th Sep by Bureau of Meteorology

ℹ️ Weather situation

A strong northwesterly flow will develop during early this morning ahead of a cold front that will sweep over parts of the state during the day.

Winds will tend westerly during this evening in the wake of the front.

Severe Weather Warning for strong winds averaging 50 to 60 km/h with DAMAGING WIND GUSTS around 90 km/h are forecast to develop from the late morning.

ℹ️Safety advice

The NSW SES advises that people should:

✅ Park your car under secure cover and away from trees, powerlines and drains.
✅ Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony.
✅ Keep at least 8 metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences.
✅ Report fallen power lines to either Ausgrid (131 388), Endeavour Energy (131 003), Essential Energy (132 080) or Evoenergy (131 093) as shown on your power bill.

☎️ For emergency help in flood and storms, ring the SES on 132 500.

Stay updated on the Hazards Near Me NSW app. Or check the Bureau website for updates at BOM.gov.au

View the full warning at:

https://www.bom.gov.au/warning/severe-weather-warning/IDN21037

31/08/2026

Many of our members spent the weekend participating in 2026, hosted by the NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue Unit at Belanglo State Forest!

🧭 This orienteering event was designed to test and train emergency services in wilderness navigation, promoting traditional map and compass navigation, off-track route finding, team work and bushcraft skills, across rugged and remote terrain. This training is valuable for equipping our members with the skills and experience to conduct remote missing person searches.

💪 The Northern Illawarra, between NSW SES Wollongong Unit & NSW SES Dapto Unit entered 7 teams into the one-day competition, with one of our teams placing 14th overall, 7th in SES division. The teams got a chance to practice their skills and had a lot of fun along the way. We'd like to say a big "thank you" to all the various agencies, groups and charities (too many to mention!) who made it happen.

20/08/2026

18/08/2026

OPERATIONAL UPDATE | NATTAI NP MISSING PERSON SEARCH

For the last several days, members of NSW SES Wollongong Unit have been supporting NSW Police Force in the search for missing 18-year-old Lily Hooper, alongside multiple other NSW SES units and partner agencies.

Since the search commenced mid last week, our members have been attending in support of our Southern Highlands counterparts as well as specialists from the Bush Search and Rescue Unit, and members have been deployed again today to continue the search effort.

NSW SES South Eastern Zone
NSW SES Wingecarribee Unit
NSW SES Wollondilly Unit
NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue Unit
NSW SES Dapto Unit
NSW SES Shellharbour City Unit
NSW SES Moss Vale Unit

26/07/2026

🔔 REMINDER: AUSALERT TEST TOMORROW!

ℹ AusAlert is a new national warning system that uses the latest technology to send emergency messages to compatible mobile devices.

🕑 It will be ready to use in October 2026, but before it launches, the system must be tested across Australia. In our region, this test will take place at 𝟮:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺, 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆.

🆘 A test message will be sent to all compatible Australian mobile devices, which will vibrate and include a loud, siren-like sound that lasts about 10 seconds.

✈ If this could disrupt you or cause you or a loved one to feel unsafe, please turn off your mobile devices or switch them to aeroplane mode before the scheduled test time in your location, and leave them off for at least one hour.

📱 As this is just a test, you don’t need to do anything, but in an actual disaster you should follow the alert instructions to keep yourself and others safe. AusAlert is another tool in the NSW SES warning toolkit, but people should still use trusted warning sources, including Hazards Near Me. The exiting Emergency Alert system will continue to be available until June 2027.

🌐 To learn more, visit: ausalert.gov.au.

08/07/2026

Last night, for the second night in a row, NSW SES Vertical Rescue operators from NSW SES Wollongong Unit & NSW SES Dapto Unit worked alongside Illawarra Police Rescue Squad - NSW Police Force in a multi-agency rescue operation involving NSW Ambulance and Fire and Rescue Station 503 Wollongong.

Crews were called to AAT Ship Terminal Port Kembla, where a 59yo male worker had fallen from a height on a cargo ship loaded with 10000 tonnes of reosteel, falling to the bottom of the hold and becoming trapped between the cargo and hull sustaining head injuries.

The patient was transported to hospital by ambulance in a stable condition.

06/07/2026

This evening our NSW SES Vertical Rescue members were called out to support Illawarra Police Rescue Squad - NSW Police Force alongside NSW Ambulance paramedics, with the rescue of a woman at Flagstaff Point.

Members of NSW SES Wollongong Unit & NSW SES Dapto Unit accessed the patient, assisted paramedics with stabilizing her, set up a hauling system and transported her to a waiting helicopter. She was taken to hospital in a stable condition.

16/06/2026

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for our volunteers!

🌲 Several of our members attended two different missing person searches in the Waterfall area, in support of NSW SES Sutherland Shire.

👨‍💻 Our incident management operators also partnered up with NSW SES Shellharbour City Unit to participate in Exercise Nightfall, a training simulation based on historical weather events, designed to challenge our members.

🧡 Our community engagement team has been busy too, joining the Local Heroes day at Greenacres Disability Services, and attending the Eid in the Gong festival in partnership with the NSW SES Multicultural Liaison Unit.

🛥 Several of our members also visited Marine Rescue Port Kembla, building ties with their team and getting familiar with their equipment.

🧯 Many of our newer members have also been completing their Field Core Skills course, giving them the foundational field operator skills they'll need on the job.

🤝 To wrap it up, we were also represented at the NSW SES South Eastern Zone Commanders Conference, a networking and training opportunity for unit leaders.

Big thanks to everyone who’s been putting in the effort 👏

04/06/2026

⚠️ SEVERE WEATHER WARNING: DAMAGING WINDS

📍Bulli to Kiama: DAMAGING WIND GUSTS in excess of 90 km/h may develop this evening and continue through early Friday.

ℹ️ NSW SES recommends:

🚗 Parking your car under secure cover and away from trees and powerlines.

🪢 Securing or putting away loose items around your house, yard and balcony.

📐Keeping at least 8 metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences.

☎️ Report fallen power lines to either Ausgrid (131 388), Endeavour Energy (131 003), Essential Energy (132 080) or Evoenergy (131 093) as shown on your power bill.

☎️ For emergency assistance due to storm (wind) damage, call NSW SES on 132 500.

📱Stay updated on the Hazards Near Me NSW app or check out the Bureau website/app for full warning details: https://www.bom.gov.au/weather-and-climate/warnings-and-alerts.

30/05/2026