One of Australia’s most iconic beaches unrecognisable after wild storms

Australia's iconic Bondi Beach looked very different from the usual Christmas sun, surf and sand, after heavy rain created a waterfall and river at the water's edge.

Sydney photographer Ben King captured video of the spectacular natural spectacle on Sunday afternoon as the city was lashed by a heavy downpour.

The sheer volume of water caused the steps leading from the Bondi Pavilion to the sand to turn into a raging waterfall which then created a fast flowing river onto the beach as the water flowed towards the shore.

Mr King mentioned the phenomenon as the Bondi Falls and Bondi River in his caption for the clip, with viewers saying they had never seen the beach like this before.

The heavy rain also carved out a river as water rushed out to sea, with one local saying they wanted to test the rapids on a boogie board

“I've lived in Bondi for 35 years and never seen this before,” said one.

“That's really something unique, thanks for noticing,” another added.

“Absolutely wild,” said a third.

“Nice washing up all that rubbish I saw when I was out there in the Pacific,” said a fourth.

Flash floods, hail and high winds devastated large parts of NSW on Sunday.

Storm supercells bringing up to 150mm of rain and 5cm of hailstones mainly affected parts of Sydney and the NSW coastline.

The NSW SES said on Sunday night it had been called to 94 incidents in Sydney alone in a three-hour period, with reports of flooded buildings, roads and homes.

The SES said there are reports of 30 townhouses being flooded by flash flooding in Pagewood, in the eastern suburbs.

“NSW SES is urging people to be safe on the roads as many have been cut off by flooding,” the SES warned.

A swift water rescue crew was called to extract a driver from their flooded vehicle on Anzac Parade in Kensington, also in the east of the city.

It was one of 12 flood rescues carried out in metropolitan Sydney when the severe thunderstorm hit the city.

The unsettled weather started on Sunday and is expected to continue until Boxing Day, putting much of the east coast at risk.

“It's always a challenge with severe thunderstorms,” ​​NSW State Emergency Service commander Greg Swindells said on Sunday.

'The best advice I can give people is to check the Bureau of Meteorology website and also the NSW SES website for severe thunderstorm warnings.

Mr Swindells said isolated flash flooding was likely, but more widespread flooding in the north of the state was not expected.

Flights were scuttled at Sydney Airport on Sunday night after 64mm of rain fell in just an hour and a half (pictured)

Lismore in the Northern Rivers region is still recovering, almost two years after it was devastated by severe flooding.

“It's normal to be concerned about the weather,” Mr Swindells said.

“I can assure you that based on the information we have, we do not expect any river flooding.

“Our biggest risk here is localized flash flooding, as well as hail and high winds that we may encounter, particularly in the Northern Rivers.”

Mr Swindells advised people in NSW to be careful on the roads and not drive through floodwaters.

“We ask that people be alert, but not alarmed,” he said.

'We want everyone to have a safe Christmas, so stay safe, take care of yourself and just be aware of the current situation around you.'

Brisbane also received heavy rain on Sunday afternoon as the storms moved eastwards across southern Queensland.

The weather bureau's Angus Hines said 10cm hailstones were seen in the south-eastern corner of Queensland and northern parts of NSW.