About 3:40pm on Thursday, reports began coming in that one of the two cranes at the No.1 Church Street development, the tallest building west of the Blue Mountains, had partially collapsed. The incident unfolded with dramatic speed as a dust storm and wild winds lashed Dubbo and a number of communities further west on the afternoon of Thursday, March 26, with the storm hitting Dubbo about 2:30pm after the skies turned a deep shade of orange in places like Cobar and Narromine.
The collapse occurred shortly before 4pm when winds reached speeds of 115 kilometres per hour, which ultimately led to the boom of the crane breaking off. Footage captured from a nearby building shows the moment the boom detached, crashing down onto an adjacent apartment building. The intensity of the winds proved exceptional for the region; 96km/h wind gusts were also recorded at Cobar at 1:53pm as the storm system swept across western NSW.
Emergency services moved swiftly to contain the immediate danger. NSW Police established a 150-metre exclusion zone around the collapse site, and surrounding buildings in the Dubbo CBD were evacuated as a precautionary measure, with a member of NSW Police saying at about 4:15pm "No one can get anywhere near that building [No.1 Church Street]."
What could have been a catastrophic event produced a remarkably fortunate outcome. There have been no reports of injuries associated with the crane collapse, a mercy given the scale of the collapse and the density of the CBD location. The building's immediate evacuation prevented what might otherwise have been a tragedy.
The storm's impact rippled across the region beyond the construction site itself. A number of unplanned power disruptions were recorded by Essential energy, including areas of Dubbo between the Macquarie River and surrounding streets, North Dubbo, the Minore area, and Narromine south of the Mitchell Highway. Widespread damage to properties was reported across the region, with loose items becoming projectiles, fallen trees and risks with powerlines, and significant damage at Nevertire west of Dubbo, where at least 6 roofs were completely blown off due to major winds.
NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns characterised the system as severe but fleeting. The storm system tracked across Sydney and was expected to head north up the coast, with the assistant commissioner describing it as "going to be significant, but short-lived."
The incident raises broader questions about construction site safety protocols during extreme weather events and whether building sites in regions prone to severe storms maintain adequate precautions. Investigations into what caused the crane to fail will likely examine whether the weather event exceeded design specifications and whether additional securing measures should have been in place.