Tornado rips through NSW south coast, causing damage around Ulladulla - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Ulladulla on the NSW south coast has been hit with a tornado that caused significant damage in the area.

The NSW State Emergency Service says it is responding to assistance with fallen roofs, tiles and trees.

A local cafe owner described it as "terrible," saying the sky darkened before a strong wind swept everything away.

A tornado has torn through parts of the New South Wales south coast, causing significant damage around Ulladulla.

Just after 1pm today, the region was issued with a severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall.

The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed a tornado did move through the area, describing the event as "very unusual".

Vision shows the rotating column of air making its way across a residential area.

Images show a rotating column of air making its way across a residential area. (Supplied: Edwin Fletcher)

In other vision from outside a local cafe, staff can be seen scrambling to remove tables and chairs before heavy rain and strong winds sweep through violently, sending umbrellas flying into the harbour.

Cafe owner Julius Machado told the ABC that it had been a busy Saturday until about 1pm when the sky darkened and everything changed in "a blink of an eye".

"Just a big wind came through and it just swept away everything … the customers were sitting outside having coffee and lunch, and then they have to rush back in," he said.

"Some rushed into the kitchen area, some went to the front section and it was terrible."

Mr Machado has been running the cafe for close to seven years. 

He said while Ulladulla had weathered strong storms before, nothing compared, and likened the event to watching a diaster movie.

Boats that had been chained to the harbour, Mr Machado added, were uplifted and thrown onto the car park.

And just as quickly as it had arrived, it disappeared.

"It [lasted] just for a couple of minutes. That's it. And yeah, back to normal after that, Mr Machado said.

"We had to close up early to clean up … all glasses were broken, plates, glasses everywhere; was just a mess, big mess."

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) said they had received more than 90 calls for assistance across the state, including 29 around Ulladulla.

Crews are responding to roofs being ripped from homes, dislodged tiles and skylights, and fallen trees and powerlines.

Dozens of properties have also being hit with power outages.

An SES incident management team has been set up in Ulladulla, with crews from nearby Nowra — which has received close to 17 millimetres of rain since 9am— and surrounding areas responding.

The SES expects calls for assistance to increase, with severe thunderstorms expected to continue into the evening.