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Climate change could be driving the emergence of sinkholes across Australia, experts say.

Several sinkholes have cracked wide open in multiple states in recent months – including a massive hole on a football field in Melbourne's north-west and a crater in the middle of the street in Adelaide's inner-south.

There are both environmental and man-made reasons for these suburban sinkholes.

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But increased extreme weather events could make them far more prevalent.

Sinkholes mostly occur in areas underlain by limestone or carbonate rocks, which can concave due to chemical weathering, Melbourne University's Infrastructure Engineering Associate Professor Shiao Huey Chow told nine.com.au.

Water is one of the root causes, which erodes bedrock over time and creates caverns.

"The main environmental agents for the chemical weathering are water and temperature," Chow explained.

"Therefore, in areas where you can find limestone, any increase in temperature or changes in rainfall patterns due to climate change can accelerate the dissolution and introduce higher sinkhole risk."

Research has found there is evidence linking sinkholes to climate change, including droughts and floods.

Heavy rainfall and surface flooding can trigger the collapse of normally stable cavities and erode soil to form new "subterranean voids", according to a scientific journal published on Nature.com.

"Additionally, rising water tables – driven by increased rainfall and storm frequency – may further destabilise ground," the research states.

Heatwaves and drought can also contribute to sinkholes.

"It has been shown that sinkhole frequency in karst environments of north-east Spain increase[s] during drought," the journal notes.

Countries such as China and Iran have karstic landscapes, which are at high risk of sinkholes.

In China alone, there is around 600,000km² of ground which could collapse.

Some metropolitan areas in Australia may be under threat of sinkholes developing suddenly due to plumbing issues or movement weakening the ground above old mine shafts.

Business development manager at Rectify Group Phil Irwin said "people have no idea" of how many areas are at risk.

There could be countless undocumented mine shafts that authorities do not know about, he said.

"Sinkholes can develop anywhere, anytime," Irwin said.

"Some of the mine shafts are recorded, not all of them were, because you just had people digging holes left, right and centre.

"We've encountered them when we've been trying to treat people's properties."

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Irwin warned sinkholes can pop up in your backyard during construction work.

"If you've got a pipe that's cracked and a bit of soil falls into the pipe, it could bubble out and collapse," he said.

"We've had plenty of those in the past but they're easily rectified because they're typically not very deep.

"But it's when you've got something that's a little bit larger and it's involving infrastructure like roads, that's where it's a little bit more significant."

What are the early warning signs of a sinkhole?

There are a few signs that point to an eventual sinkhole.

This can include structural issues such as cracks in the walls and floor, or doors and windows that don't close properly.

On the ground, evidence of sinkholes can be buried items becoming visible, small ponds forming, depressions spots on the fround or slumping trees and fences.

How do you get rid of sinkholes?

Sinkholes are rectified using different methods depending on the size.

Irwin recommends resin injection, which involves stabilising the ground by injecting expanding polyurethane resin into the soil through small holes.

Bigger sinkholes, such as collapsed mine shafts, can usually be fixed by pumping cellular concrete into the cavity.

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Victoria's Great Ocean Road has reopened to traffic around the communities smashed by extreme flash flooding as residents and holidaymakers begin the huge clean up.

Melanie and Martin were arriving at their Separation Creek home when the water came screaming through on Thursday.

"We heard this cracking, roaring, cracking, and watched as our bed in our second bedroom just literally flew out under the bridge, fully made up, pillows, duvets out to sea," Melanie said.

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"Literally just watched this water torrenting down the creek and the land slipping away before our eyes."

The property once had rooms on both sides of the creek but it has been completely separated.  

The force of the water tore the bridge off its foundations and destroyed the area the couple had revegetated with thousands of native plants. 

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"It's almost surreal, like you're watching a movie, this thing torrenting down," Martin said.

"You could actually hear timber crashing, like absolutely thundering down, and it was just getting more and more intense."

Their neighbour Peter Jacobs has lived in the area for 36 years.

He and his wife were trying to save their chickens when they were forced to run for their lives.

"I looked up and there was a wall, a tsunami of trees, ferns, water, and just the noise was extraordinary, and I just looked in total dismay," he said.

"And I said, 'get out, we've got to get out'."

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The couple managed to leave and have since been left isolated without power and a huge clean-up ahead of them.

Jacobs is hoping the council will arrive soon to assist.

"I've never experienced anything like this," he said.

"We can recover, but we just need some help, I need some help."

A few kilometres away at Wye River the clean up began first thing this morning after water bulldozed its way through the town. 

A large group of Country Fire Authority volunteers arrived to help.

One of the biggest tasks was rescuing two stranded cars that had been washed away.

Crews used a winch and a four-wheel-drive to salvage what was left of a Mazda.

The Volkswagen, which was trapped at sea on a rock, was also moved with some heavy machinery.

Many residents in the town of Wye River put their hands up to help with the massive clean-up and brought their families along.

"We've been cleaning up the bridge at the park and there's been a lot of rubbish everywhere," one child said.

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Robert Irwin's return to Australia has been celebrated with a lookalike search in his home town.

Hundreds turned out as the Sunshine Coast community hosted a lookalike contest to find the wildlife warrior's unofficial doppelganger.

"To welcome Robert Irwin home after six months, we had a bit of fun," Visit Sunshine Coast chief executive Matt Stoeckel said.

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"If Bindi Irwin had been here, she would have done a double take."

Thirty contestants battled it out on Kings Beach at Caloundra for the coveted title and bragging rights.

Robert lookalikes of all shapes and sizes strutted their stuff on a beachside catwalk in front of 300 people.

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Lookalike hopefuls tried to win over the judges with a range of props including toy crocodiles, blond wigs and the iconic khakis.

Stoeckel said the stakes were high with strict criteria to claim the crown.

"You had to own the crikey with confidence, you had to have that Robert Irwin physique and really be able to entertain the crowd with a bit of dance moves and some croc wrestling," he said.

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Caloundra father Ben Marshall took out the coveted title.

His striking similarity helped him win $500 in cash but it was his dance moves that got him over the line.

"I was up all night practising, so yeah, I'm glad I took out the win," Marshall said.

The real Robert took to social media to describe the contest as "classic".

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The AI ‘Bush Legend’ account has more than 211,000 followers online.

Police and NZTA have refused permission for the Tamaki-led march over the Harbour Bridge.

Emergency services were also called to Kai Iwi Lakes, Northland, about an hour later.

Campers have had to be rescued, hundreds of others have called for help and a woman has died when a tree branch fell on a car as wild weather batters the NSW coast.

The woman was killed while driving on the Illawarra Highway at Macquarie Pass when the branch fell about 4pm today. A male passenger was also injured.

One of three rescued campers had hypothermia when police and the SES rescued them from Geehi in Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains last night.

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Across the state, SES volunteers have responded to hundreds of weather-related jobs, particularly in the South Coast, Illawarra, Sydney and Hunter regions over the last 48 hours.

Volunteers helped several people trapped in their cars as flash flooding hit Albion Park, Picton and Marulan in the Southern Highlands in the past 24 hours.

NSW SES Superintendent Matt Kirby reminded people to put safety first.

"This weather can produce heavy rainfall and strong winds, so we remind people not to drive through floodwaters and be wary of where you park your vehicles as tree branches can fall at any time," Kirby said.

"Download the Hazards Near Me app to stay up to date with any warnings that have been issued."

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Heavy rain has already drenched parts of the state over the last two days, in the worst storm of the summer.

In Moruya, almost 200 millimetres of rain fell in the 48 hours to 9am today.

It was warned that the slow-moving pressure system could bring up to 120 millimetres of rain in some parts of the NSW coast over 24 hours.

Heavy rain and damaging winds were likely to continue in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Illawarra and Shoalhaven.

Severe thunderstorms were also likely across the Central Coast and Mid North Coast regions.

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The attack comes after several violent incidents on Auckland buses recently.

A woman has died after her car was struck by a falling tree branch near the NSW Southern Highlands.

The woman was travelling along the Illawarra Highway at Macquarie Pass near Clover Hill Road when the severe weather dislodged the branch about 4pm today.

A man believed to be travelling in the front seat of the car suffered minor injuries, while two people in the back seat were not physically injured.

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The notorious road is expected to be closed for several hours while emergency services work at the scene.

The tragedy is one of hundreds of jobs emergency services have been called to over the past few days as wild weather lashes communities near the NSW coast.

As heavy rain poured down over the past 24 hours, State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers helped several people trapped in their cars as flash flooding hit Albion Park, Picton and Marulan.

NSW SES Superintendent Matt Kirby warned residents to heed the warnings from authorities.

"This weather can produce heavy rainfall and strong winds, so we remind people not to drive through floodwaters and be wary of where you park your vehicles as tree branches can fall at any time," Kirby said.

"Download the Hazards Near Me app to stay up to date with any warnings that have been issued."

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Heavy rain has already drenched parts of the state over the last two days in the worst storm of the summer.

In Moruya, almost 200 millimetres of rain fell in the 48 hours to 9am today.

A slow-moving pressure system was predicted to bring up to 120 millimetres of rain in some parts of the NSW coast over the following 24 hours.

Heavy rain and damaging winds were likely to continue in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Illawarra and Shoalhaven over the next 48 hours.

Severe thunderstorms are also likely across the Central Coast and Mid North Coast regions, which could cause isolated rainfall of up to 120 millimetres in the next 24 hours, along with strong winds and hail.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.