A small tornado has ripped through parts of Australia’s state of New South Wales

The tornado hit near the small town of Bathurst this afternoon, whipping up debris and damaging homes.

At least three people have been injured according to emergency officials.

Bureau of Metereology (BoM) senior climatologist Agata Imielska confirmed there was damage to houses and power lines north-east of Bathurst.

State Emergency Service officials and police are currently on the ground assessing the destruction

Imielska confirmed the tornado was part of a broader weather system that the BOM had been warning about for several days.

“We have a line of damage roughly 25 to 30 kilometres,”

Imielska said.

The system is moving across Australia’s east coast, and there are severe weather warnings are in place for large parts of NSW, including Sydney.

A man in his 40s has been taken to hospital with minor injuries.