Severe storms continue to batter the east coast of Australia. Three elderly people - one woman and two men - have died in Dungog in western New South Wales, which has recorded more than 312 millimeters (12.28 inches) of rain in 24 hours, according to China's international Xinhua News Agency.

The nation's east coast can expect a continued pummeling until the storms ease up on Wednesday morning.

More than 180,000 homes have no power and 20 people were the focus of rescue crews so far. Firefighters have also battled 75 fires, according to Xinhua.

"This weather system isn't abating - we still have cyclonic winds in that area," the police spokesman told Xinhua. "We're still seeing massive amounts of rainfall and so it's going to be a challenging and busy afternoon."

Winds have reached record speeds - up to 1130 kilometers per hour (more than 702 miles per hour) - as another low pressure system builds off the coast of New South Wales.

According to Xinhua, a Fire and Rescue spokesman called this week one of the busiest on record.