During the evening of 17 August 1998 between 1700 and 2000 Eastern Standard Time (EST) extremely heavy rainfall near the Illawarra escarpment to the northwest of Wollongong caused flash flooding, extensive damage to property and one fatality. The rainfall during this three hour period was the most intense part of a 96 hour rainfall event extending from 1800 EST Saturday 15 August to 1800 EST Wednesday 19 August 1998. Prior to the heaviest rainfall, between 1700 and 2000 on 17 August, parts of the Wollongong catchment had already received up to 375 mm of rain during the previous 47 hours. This paper is a synopsis of a report currently being prepared by the Bureau of Meteorology. The highest rainfall total recorded over the entire 5-day period was 745 mm at Mt Ousley, while the highest 24 hour total to 9am on Tuesday 18 August, also at Mt Ousley, was 445 mm. Analysis of the rainfall intensity for durations from 5 minutes to 72 hours has revealed return periods over 1 in 100 years for durations between 30 minutes and 6 hours along the top of the escarpment near Mt Ousley, Rixons Pass, Bulli Pass, Balgownie Reservoir and Beth Salem.