Thousands Lost Power in South-East Queensland and Victoria Following Intense Storms
Approximately twenty-five thousand homes in Queensland's southeast were left experiencing outages on Monday's dawn after severe thunderstorms swept through the region, generating strong winds topping over 100 km/h.
Large Hailstones and Broad Impact
Residents witnessed large ice chunks as large as seven centimeters in some areas. Weather authorities confirmed that different parts across the state had been affected by large hailstones.
This afternoon's storm has absolutely smashed our power system!
Utility workers were working to restore energy supply throughout the damaged zones, with dozens of response units working to handle the numerous electricity disruptions.
Southern State's Weather Woes
At the same time, around 1,000 energy customers in the southern state also encountered power outages after the metropolitan area recorded its most precipitation in a year and a half.
State Emergency Services received 598 emergency reports across the area, mainly for property damage but also for collapsed vegetation and flooding.
Hardest Hit Regions
- Werribee - saw considerable weather impact
- Hoppers Crossing - various emergency calls
- Wyndham area - 179 help reports
At one point on the previous day, in excess of 28,000 energy customers in Victoria were experiencing outages.
Climate Outlook
Damp conditions were expected to linger along much of Queensland's east this next several days as a weather pattern continued to draw in moisture against the shoreline.
The following day was forecast to be the most rainy day, with ongoing thunderstorm potential predicted across various areas of both regions.
Safety Concern
Health officials warned that there was an increased chance of epidemic thunderstorm asthma across the countryside regions, especially given the ongoing climate situation.
This warning comes after historical occurrences where comparable situations led to significant health impacts in the region.
