Where's the roof?

ALMOST a year after seeking refuge from floods on top of their sturdy farm shed, Leigh and Yvonne Hawkins witnessed a ‘mini-tornado' tearing the building apart.

Patrick Estate resident Yvonne Hawkins with some of the wood that came off her shed during a storm. Picture: Sarah Harvey

ALMOST a year to the day after seeking refuge from flood water on top of their sturdy farm shed, Leigh and Yvonne Hawkins witnessed a 'mini-tornado' tearing the building apart.

The couple now face a large repair bill after half of the roof of the building was wrenched off and metal and wood debris was strewn across their property, north of Lowood.

Mrs Hawkins said they received an Early Warning Network message, warning them of an incoming storm.

"It started to get a bit windy, so I got up and had a look out the window," she said.

"There was this noise like a huge vacuum cleaner and a lot of dust and when I looked outside I said 'oh, there's some corrugated iron wrapped around the mulberry tree, I think the roof of the chicken pen has come off'.

"Then when it all died down we went outside and there was bits of corrugated iron all over the yard.

"It would have lasted all of 10 minutes."

The Hawkins soon discovered the roof of their shed had been torn apart by a violent wind.

"I really think it was a mini tornado, to have done all that damage so quickly."

Pieces of iron and wood speared into the ground around their house, with only a grove of trees standing between the house and the shed.

"We stayed up there this time last year when the flood hit with two other sets of neighbours," Mrs Hawkins said.

While the roof was sturdy enough to support the six people as well as a tent and a generator a year ago, it couldn't withstand the winds that tore through their property last week.

"We were lucky during the flood; the water came to the edge of the road but no further," she said.

"I think we were one of the few in the region to not be flooded."

Mrs Hawkins said there had been downed trees on nearby O'Reilly's Weir Rd but no other damage to property.

"There was a lot of inundation on O'Reilly's Weir Rd, if they had sheds come down there it might have been too much."

Weatherzone meteorologist Alex Krisman said while it was impossible to say if the event was a tornado many storms were capable of damaging structures.

"Gale winds between 76 and 87kmh would be able to damage a building if it was susceptible to damage," he said.

Forecast

After the blistering heat of the past week Ipswich could be in for a wet weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting showers developing today and a few showers tomorrow.

The mercury will drop, however, with the temperature not predicted to be above 30 until Wednesday.

Originally published as Where's the roof?