It was the morning after the storm ripped the roof right off her duplex, but Helen McKeith was still shaking.
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"It was so frightening. I thought this is it, we're done for," she told the Illawarra Mercury.
"The wind came howling through and the next minute our roof went up and everything caved in on the balcony.
"It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying."
The State Emergency Service was kept busy working hard overnight with more than 1000 requests for assistance across NSW, half of those coming from the NSW Illawarra and South Coast, after a severe storm hit.
"You kind of don't know what to do. You are just kind of paralysed....what do I do while it is all caving in on you," Ms McKeith said.
"Luckily enough the inside didn't but all outside did.
"You just don't know. The doors, I thought they were going to blow in....that was pretty scary as well.
"It felt like a tornado. It just felt like a cyclone or tornado, the roaring and sound was horrendous."
The Shell Cove widower said she had never felt so scared living alone.
When the incident happened just before 7pm, Ms McKeith called her duplex neighbour Gail Snodgrass, who was also in "quite a state".
The Ellerston Parkway resident also spoke to the Mercury about the "frightening experience".
"I just put dinner on and the power went off, and as the power went off the roof lifted and then all the walls started caving in and the ceiling....it was terrifying," Mrs Snodgrass said.
"I remember a huge roar. I just turned the gas on, and then there was a big bang and everything lifted."
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Her husband Warren Snodgrass then called 000 for assistance but failed in his efforts to contact the SES.
"Because there was no power and lights Warren must have rang the wrong number the operator provided him for SES," Mrs Snodgrass said.
"Fortunately by the time we got out the police were already there.
"My neighbour [Helen McKeith] then called asking if we were okay and telling me her walls were falling down and the roof had blown off. I just replied 'yes, it is the same here'."
Looking at "her beloved" duplex so badly damaged, the morning after, Mrs Snodgrass couldn't help get "emotional".
"I can't believe how it looks. I'm still very emotional, I couldn't sleep all night," she said.
"We had to come back to get our medication but we're not allowed in. I have to call the doctor today to give us new scripts."