AT LEAST seven people were feared dead last night and a giant coal ship leaking oil off Newcastle threatened environmental disaster, as storms wreaked havoc across New South Wales.
A 10-metre section of the Old Pacific Highway on the Central Coast collapsed, throwing a car with two adults and two children into a 30-metre-deep chasm gouged into the road by a flooded creek.
Witnesses said a bystander who tried to help was also carried off.
The family's empty sedan has been found in treacherous floodwaters 100 metres down a swollen creek near Gosford but its occupants have not been found. Torrential rain was preventing rescuers from searching for the family.
A witness told police a man's voice could be heard screaming for help when the car and the road disappeared, leaving a massive hole 30 metres deep and 10 metres wide.
In the Hunter Valley, meanwhile, police called off a search for an elderly couple reportedly swept off a bridge in a four-wheel-drive.
As the dangerous conditions continued across the state last night, NSW Premier Morris Iemma declared a "natural disaster" area for the Hunter and Central Coast regions.
High winds and heavy rain brought down trees and powerlines, blacking out homes and causing flash flooding and a landslide. At Tuggerah, on the Central Coast, about 500 secondary school children were trapped by floodwaters. In Newcastle, water was waist-deep in the city's main street.
At Newcastle's heritage-listed Nobbys Beach, a 225-metre coal carrier, the Pasha Bulker, remained wedged on a reef as it was battered by waves in the worst storm in the region in more than 30 years. Experts believe there is a substantial risk the Japanese-owned, Panama-registered vessel could break apart today, drenching beaches with up to 700 tonnes of fuel oil.
Witnesses said last night that creases were visible in the vessel's steel hull, evidence of the damage caused by waves as high as 18 metres.
Shipping Australia chief executive Llew Russell said preventing a devastating oil spill was a huge engineering challenge. "This is a salvage issue and more importantly we're trying to prevent a leakage of oil," he said. "It is a horrendous problem for everyone involved."
Tug boats had also been dispatched to help three other beleaguered coal carriers, Sea Confidence, Betis and Coral Emerald, which were anchored and rolling in the heavy swell about two kilometres offshore.
NSW Ports Minister Joe Tripodi said authorities would investigate whether some ships had ignored weather warnings.
La esquina de las calles King y Steel en el centro de Newcastle. La imagen muestra varios automóviles flotando.


Hasta 8 personas han fallecido en Newcastle, Australia luego de que la ciudad experimentara la peor tormenta en 30 años.

El Primer Ministro de Nueva Gales del Sur, Morris Iemma, dio la declaración el 8 de junio a las 9:30 p.m. mientras que el centro de la ciudad se inundaba con agua y escombros. Las autoridades han tenido que hacer un llamamiento para buscar a una familia de cinco, que se encuentra desaparecida cuando la Old Pacific Highway fue arrasada por la tormenta. Los cuerpos de un adulto y dos niños fueron encontrados en el auto esta mañana.

La policía también busca a una pareja anciana de Hunter Valley y a un hombre de Newcastle.

Las autoridades temen un "desastre ambiental mayor" ya que el buque de carga a granel Pasha Bulker se encuentra varado en un arrecife en Nobby's Beach. El cargador contiene 700 toneladas de combustible y muestra signos de inestabilidad. Veintidós miembros de la tripulación fueron rescatados. Otros dos buques, el Sea Confidence y el Betis, requirieron asistencia de remolcadores.

La Oficina de Meteorología de Australia ha emitido alertas meteorológicas serias y esperan que el tiempo se modere para el domingo.