Shorten inspects Sydney storm damage

Before Sunday, Coogee Surf Life Saving Club had a training gym.

Now it has a two-by-two metre hole in its double brick wall and a tangled web of metal which once formed the equipment.

The club fell victim to Sydney's storm which ripped through its walls as the tide smashed Sydney's coastline.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten inspected the damage on Tuesday after briefly suspending his campaign.

Days of severe flooding and wild weather have left at least four people dead and three missing across NSW, Tasmania and the ACT.

Mr Shorten pledged to stand behind the iconic club as it rebuilds, while paying tribute to families who have lost loved ones.

"We've seen the terrible damage done," he told reporters in Coogee on Tuesday.

"In the worst of times we see the best of Australians."

He confirmed he'd spoken with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and promised to visit affected areas in NSW and Tasmania once the immediate emergency had subsided.

He thanked emergency service volunteers and workers before reinforcing their message to stay away from waterways, creeks and rivers.

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club manager Tass Karozis said club members knew to abandon the building when windows started blowing in on Sunday.

"That was everyone's cue to leave," he told AAP.

Waves were crashing through windows up to the second level, he said.

"There's absolutely nothing you can do at that point."

But some were keen to take advantage of the storms, paddling out in large swell at Coogee Beach on Tuesday.

Mr Karozis dubbed those surfers "courageous or crazy" depending on how you viewed it.

However, he said life savers were always disappointed when people didn't heed the advice of emergency services.

Taking risks also puts in danger the lives of those on duty to help if the situation turns nasty, he said.

"Right now, definitely stay out of the swell until it calms down," he warned.

Mr Shorten will receive a briefing from NSW State Emergency Services in western Sydney before heading to Brisbane to resume campaigning.