Australia’s Queensland and Victoria face power outages after severe storms
Around 26,000 households in south-east Queensland, Australia, were left without power on Monday morning following a severe thunderstorm, with wind gusts exceeding 109 km/h.
Residents reported giant hailstones of up to 7 cm in some areas, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
In Victoria, more than 1,300 energy customers were also affected after Melbourne recorded its wettest day in a year and a half. Most outages were restored by early Monday afternoon.
State-owned Energex, which supplies electricity to 1.5 million homes and businesses in south-east Queensland, said the storm caused “significant damage,” bringing down wires across the greater Brisbane region. Nearly 70 crews were deployed Sunday night to restore power.
“This afternoon’s storm has absolutely smashed our network! If you can see wires down, please stay well clear and call 000,” Energex posted on social media.
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed large hailstones across the region, including:
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Ipswich: 4 cm
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Moorooka and Goonda: 5 cm
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Pullenvale: 5–6 cm
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St Lucia: 7 cm
Other areas experienced severe winds, with gusts around 95 km/h in Amberley and Archerfield, and 109 km/h in Gayndah.
The storm also disrupted sporting events, halting Sunday’s Pacific Cup Men’s rugby league match between Samoa and Tonga in Brisbane, with spectators advised to take shelter as lightning struck.
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