Blog 10_Sydney disappeared in red dust

Sydneysiders woke up today to find their city wrapped around by a thick dust storm.

"I'm 72 years old and I've never seen that in my life before," a Sydney resident said.

Barry Hanstrum, Bureau of Meteorology regional director, also told The Sunday Morning Herald that
it is very usual to see a thick blanket covering such a large area of New South Wales.

"More than half the state at midday today is under this cloud and the dust is starting to spread north and east and is likely to affect parts of Queensland as well in the next 24 hours" Hanstrum said.

The dust blanket has been carried by powerful winds that snatched up tons of topsoil from the drought-ravaged west of the state. On Tuesday morning, Sydney's air pollution levels has been pushed up to 1500 times their normal levels and raised some health concerns. A surge in calls from people suffering from breathing problems was reported. Children and elderly are advised to stay home.

The dust storm has caused inconvenience to both local residents and tourists; traffic has been severely affected and Sydney's landmarks, including the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge have been completely obscured.

The BBC reports that it had been a difficult 24 hours for Australia as the country suffered from earthquakes in Victoria state, hail storms in parts of New South Wales and bushfire in northern Queensland, causing numerous damages.

Fortunately, the dust storm is estimated to disappear by the evening as the low pressure system over Sydney, which brought the dusty wins, moved out to the sea. Check out the video report for more details.