A mammoth clean-up is under way in Hobart following the Tasmanian city's wettest day in nearly 60 years, described by insurers as a catastrophe.
Cars floated down CBD streets and homes and businesses were evacuated as flash flooding washed across the city after record rainfall swept across the state.
Four people, including a 15-year-old boy, had to be rescued from floodwaters around the Hobart area on Friday, while emergency services received nearly 400 calls for help.
Hobart recorded its wettest day since 1960, with 129mm falling in 24 hours alongside wind gusts of more than 80km/h.
Mt Wellington recorded 236mm, Leslie Vale 226mm and Grove 160mm.
A teenage boy had to be winched to safety from a flooded cricket oval at New Norfolk, while a security guard was rescued from a windowless room at the University of Tasmania's Sandy Bay campus as it filled with water.
Two people who tried to drive through flood waters at New Town also had to be pulled to safety.
The deluge forced the Sandy Bay campus to close while the Royal Hobart Hospital shut some beds due to flooding.
SES director Andrew Lea said the wild weather was unprecedented.
"I have been in this job for 17 years and I haven't seen an event of this scale in the Hobart area so it is very significant," he told reporters on Friday.
The Insurance Council of Australia declared the resulting damage a catastrophe, while the RACT expected the cost of the storm among its customers to exceed $1 million after it received more than 400 claims.
Energy provider TasNetworks said more than 3500 homes remained without power on Friday evening, with some expected to remain in darkness overnight.
Conditions were expected to ease into Saturday, but a flood watch remained in place for the eastern half of the state, as well as flood warnings for the North Esk, Derwent, Huon and Coal rivers.
