Thunderstorms have been causing havoc in the Australian state of New South Wales and more are on the way.

Lightning, hailstorms, heavy rain and flash floods have struck the area from the Blue Mountains to western Sydney.

Several thousand people were left without electricity as another storm rolled through on Friday night local time.

Forecasters say the unusual subtropical conditions bringing a mixture of high humidity and storms will continue for another few days.

Several thousand kilometres to the north in the Philippines, people are bracing themselves for an entirely separate storm.

Typhoon Hagupit has weakened as it churns over the Pacific and is no longer a category 5 “super typhoon”.

But it’s still likely to cause damage when it hits the central islands on Saturday.

Thousands of people have fled coastal villages and areas prone to landslides.

Memories are fresh of last year’s Typhoon Haiyan – one of the strongest ever to make landfall – that caused massive destruction, killing more than 7,000 people and leaving several million homeless.