Advertisement The main beach at Australia's Byron Bay has all-but disappeared as the country's north-east coast is smashed by wild storms for a fifth straight day, forcing widespread evacuations. A 1,000km (620 mile) stretch of coast is being hit with torrential rain and the 'abnormally high' tides, which battered beaches that have already been depleted and weakened due to previous erosions. Coastal management experts say the situation is particularly bad because of erosion that has been occurring over recent months. And now 26ft tides have washed away huge sections of loose sand and also brought down trees along the banks. High seas have destroyed some of the most famous beaches along the coast, including the main beach at Byron Bay in northern NSW home to Hollywood A-listers such as Chris Hemsworth.