Thousands Experiencing Power in South-East Queensland and Victorian Regions Following Powerful Storms
Nearly 25,000 homes in Queensland's southeast were left experiencing outages on Monday's dawn after severe thunderstorms impacted the state, producing powerful gusts reaching 109km/h.
Substantial Hailstones and Extensive Damage
Residents observed substantial frozen pellets as large as 7cm in some areas. Meteorological experts verified that different parts across Queensland had been impacted by large hailstones.
The recent thunderstorm has heavily impacted our infrastructure!
Emergency crews were attempting to repair electricity service throughout the affected regions, with approximately seventy teams working to address the extensive power failures.
Victoria's Storm Challenges
Meanwhile, approximately one thousand households in Victoria also faced power outages after the metropolitan area experienced its heaviest rainfall in 18 months.
State Emergency Services responded to 598 requests for assistance across the state, mainly for property damage but also for fallen timber and flooding.
Hardest Hit Regions
- Werribee region - saw significant weather impact
- Hoppers Crossing - various emergency calls
- Wyndham - 179 emergency requests
At one point on the previous day, more than 28k energy customers in Victoria were without power.
Climate Outlook
Humid circumstances were predicted to continue along large portions of the state's eastern regions this week as a atmospheric system continued to draw in moisture against the shoreline.
Tuesday was expected to become the most rainy day, with persistent severe weather risk anticipated across different parts of both regions.
Medical Alert
Public health experts alerted that there was an higher risk of thunderstorm-induced asthma across the northern rural areas, specifically given the current weather patterns.
This alert comes after past events where similar conditions led to substantial respiratory problems in the state.