More than 2,500 homes are without power and flights have been diverted in the wake of a severe thunderstorm which has battered the Gold Coast.

Lightning, wind and driving rain have wreaked havoc in northern NSW, felling trees, cutting off roads and properties and leaving more than 25,000 properties without electricity.

In Tweed Heads a childcare centre and a number of cars ... By lunch time most had been reconnected. Tweed SES check out the best way to clear debris from a car damaged on Wharf Rd. Picture ...