Westfield Mount Druitt west Sydney roof collapses during crazy storm

October 14, 2021 Ava

The terrifying moment ceilings inside a busy Australian shopping centre collapsed next to a packed Woolworths sending hundreds of shoppers fleeing during a dangerous storm cell has been caught on video.

The ceilings above four stores inside Westfield at Mount Druitt in Western Sydney failed and crashed in, sending panels and cladding falling to the floor of the shops as a violent storm hit the mall like a wrecking ball around 4pm on Thursday.

The dangerous roof collapses happened inside stores surrounding a packed Woolworths on level one of the centre, which had to be immediately evacuated.

Two people were treated for minor injuries and transported to hospital.

Sydney was pounded with hail, torrential rain and high winds during the super cell storm on Thursday which left a trail of damage in its wake.

The dramatic video captured from inside the Mount Druitt mall shows sections of the ceiling above a Best & Less outlet crashing onto the floor as flood water begins to pour down.

Frightening footage also showed water pouring out of light fittings onto the floor outside busy shops before shoppers were sent fleeing and the huge mall of 204 stores was evacuated.

The enormous power of the storm was obvious outside the centre, where giant sails covering the carpark were pushed to the ground.

Inside, the mall suffered ‘significant structural damage’, according to a spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW.

The service told Daily Mail Australia it received a call at 4.09pm and rushed to the scene with two trucks including eight firefighters attending.

Firefighters evacuated shoppers and conducted a ‘salvage operation’ inside the mall.

Other photos taken by rescuers show an Indian restaurant adjacent to Woolworths, Sehaj Indian Food and Sweets, completely destroyed by the roof collapse.

The entire Westfield Mall was evacuated and at least four stores affected.

‘Based on what we know the rain water seemed to have channelled itself to right above the store and pooled there causing the ceiling to collapse,’ a spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW told Daily Mail Australia.

Firies had no choice but to close the centre for fear of further celling collapse and potentially serious injuries.

Source: Thanks msn.com