Sydney Beaches to Remain Closed Until Wednesday

Many beaches in Sydney will remain close until Wednesday as waves of up to four meters created by ex-tropical cyclone Fina hit the coast.

The Sydney beaches identified as closed to swimming are Manly, Bronte, Narrabeen, Dee Why, South Marouba, South Curl Curl, and Palm Beach. Similar closures were made in beaches in eastern Australia, northern New South Wales (NSW), and Queensland's Gold and Sunshine coasts.

The bad weather caused extensive erosion in the beaches and some minor flooding, prompting authorities to caution Australians against swimming and surfing.

"Some of the waves that I've witnessed came in over the last couple of days have to be the biggest that I've seen," ABC quoted Queensland lifeguard Bill Pollock.

He described the Christmas Day cyclone, despite being reclassified on Friday as a low pressure area, as having created gigantic waves.

However, with the cyclone having already left and some sunshine being experienced, the weather bureau said large waves should begin to ease along the coast on Tuesday.

Forecaster Gavin Holcombe said that Fina is now moving slowly in an east south-easterly direction which will likely cause big waves in central and southern NSW.

The rescue group, Surf Lifesaving NSW, said that despite the smaller number of people who dared venture into water outside flagged areas, volunteer surf lifesavers, more than 50 people were rescued on Monday and needed first aid.

Five of them were swept out to sea north of Coffs Harbour while others were rescued at Bronte and Newport after they were caught in rips.

The Bureau of Meteorology cautioned that because of dangerous surf conditions, swimming, surfing and rock fishing would be considered hazardous activities on Tuesday.

Senior forecaster Peter Zmijewski warned of combined waves of three to four metres off Sydney and showers in the western slopes and southern ranges. He added there is a chance that Sydney would be hit by a thunderstorm on Tuesday morning, while damaging wind gusts and very heavy downpour could batter Norfolk Island. He added that showers and cloudy conditions would likely last until Sunday although the seas are expected to become calmer in the evening.