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A man stands on a sporting oval that is covered in white hail stones. He is holding four large hail stones.

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Jason Tozier, a chef at Sydney's Hard Rock Cafe, checks the damage to a skylight
Jason Tozier, a chef at Sydney's Hard Rock Cafe, checks the damage to a skylight.(Reuters: MDB/JBP/AA)

A man looks at the damage to his car, taken through the a smashed windscreen
The scores of damaged cars set off a flurry of "hail sales" in Sydney.(Reuters: MDB/TAN/AA)

Rescue workers stand in front of a pile of sandbags used to help tie down tarpaulins over damaged roofs in Sydney
Rescue workers used sandbags to help tie down tarpaulins over damaged roofs in Sydney's Eastern suburbs.(Reuters: MDB/TAN/WS)

SES volunteers assess an apartment blocks damage after the 1999 Sydney Hailstorm
The SES was completely overwhelmed and repair services dragged on for months.(ABC News)

An aerial photo of a Sydney suburb after the hailstorm shows nearly every house patched with tarpaulin
Sydney roofs were a sea of blue and yellow tarpaulin for months after the hailstorm while they waited for repairs.(ABC News)

emergency services battle to place tarpaulin on a roof apex while winds blow
More than 24,000 homes were damaged in the storm.(ABC News)

1999 Sydney Hailstorm
Rescue workers tie down a tarpaulin over the roof of a house in Sydney's Eastern suburbs.(Reuters: MDB/TS/WS)

Army members battle strong winds as they try tie down a tarpaulin over a damaged tile roof in Sydney in 1999
Soldiers battle strong winds to tie down a tarpaulin over the roof of a house in Sydney's east.(Reuters: MDB/TS/WS)

Three women from the Disaster Recovery Centre sit at a table wearing blue collared shirts
The disaster recovery centre meets after the hailstorm.(ABC News)

A colour-coded map showing the hail risk increases in southern and eastern Australia.
Research predicts hailstorms will likely become more frequent and intense in a warmer world.(Supplied: Insurance Australia Group)

A var chart showing the growing cost of insurance because of extreme weather events
Insurers paid $2.1 billion a year to policyholders impacted by extreme weather events.(Supplied: ICA)

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