Brisbane weather: Boxing Day storms bring more destruction
A nine-year-old girl has died in a stormwater drain and a boatie has perished off Brisbane, with others missing in separate incidents after another day of storms in South East Queensland.
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Three people are dead, including a nine-year-old girl, and four are missing after ferocious storms swept South East Queensland on Christmas Night and Boxing Day.
In the latest tragedies, the young girl died in a stormwater drain while one person died and two were missing in a boat capsize off Manly on Brisbane’s bayside.
It is understood the girl jumped a fence at an address in Palara St, Rochedale South, at Logan about 6.30pm on Tuesday and was swept away in surging waters in a storm drain.
Paramedics rushed to the scene but she could not be revived.
In the boat capsize, near Green Island in Moreton Bay, one person was found dead while two were still being searched for overnight.
Eight people were rescued.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson confirmed they were treating eight rescued men all aged in their 50s and 60s onshore for cuts and bruises while police commenced the search.
Out of the eight rescued, all of them were stable with minor cuts and bruises; QAS confirmed they were all at risk of hypothermia.
The most serious injury was one male patient with a laceration to his neck.
Four patients were transported to Princess Alexandra Hospital, two to Mater Hospital and the two to Redlands Hospital.
Onlookers were frantic as they watched water police lights travel up and down the bay.
It is unclear how long the men were out in open water before emergency services were called.
It came as the southeast was again pounded by cyclonic winds and torrential rain on Tuesday afternoon, with roofs blown off houses in Manly and boats turned upside-down in Wynnum.
Police also launched a search and rescue operation for two women who went missing in the vicinity of Mary River in Southside Gympie.
Emergency services were called to the Kidd Bridge around 3.20pm following reports three women were swept away in floodwaters.
One woman, a 46-year-old, made it to safety and contacted police. Two others, a 46-year-old and a 40-year-old, remain unaccounted for.
A search and rescue operation has commenced involving water police, general duties officers, swift water rescue crews and the SES.
Police are urging people to avoid the area so as not to interfere with the search effort.
Earlier, new severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for South East Queensland, after golf ball-sized hail and intense storms hit the region, leaving multiple streets underwater, destroying buildings and ripping trees from the ground.
Power could be out for days, if not longer as Energex crews race to repair downed power lines following deadly thunderstorms that pounded South East Queensland on Christmas night, destroying homes and felling trees.
A woman died at Helensvale on the Gold Coast on Christmas night after a tree fell on her while she walked along the road, while tales of fear and panic have emerged as 110,000 homes remain without power in the Gold Coast region, and all but one of the major theme parks have been forced to close.
Dozens of flights have been delayed and several flights have been cancelled as Brisbane cops a battering of severe thunderstorms. Brisbane Airport recorded a wind gust of 63km/h and has been hit by at least 33mm of rain.
Hope Banks Beacon recorded a wind gust of 119km/h, enough to classify as a category two system.
Inner Beacon also recorded a 106km/h gust while Archerfield, which was battered by damaging winds only a few weeks ago, hit 80km/h.
Posts on social media paint a devastating picture of destruction as many capture the roof of Manly State School on Ernest St being blown off.
Describing the devastation, Amby Lauren Murtagh said she had never experienced anything like it.
“I honestly thought the roof was about to lift off my house,” she said.
“The neighbours tree is uprooted and my fence is blown apart. Back yard looks like carnage.”
Mate’s restaurant and bar in Wynnum were forced to close early after intense storms caused a large leak from a crack in the roof.
Wynnum resident Barbara Peers said a shed found the way into her backyard, with locals poking fun at the situation encouraging her to bring it to the local vet and congratulating her on the new shed.
Popular dining venue Manly Boathouse which sits on the marina was also partially destroyed with furniture from its outdoor terrace thrown across the road and a boat sitting on its front grass area mangled.
A herd of cattle displaced from the storms were spotted walking along Bald Hills Road in Strathpine, with resident Chris Herrigan warning locals to keep an eye out for the animals.
A BOM spokesman confirmed the “very dangerous, life threatening storms” are expected to hang around well into the night.
Tuesday’s severe thunderstorm is the fourth day of torrential rainfall, large hail and damaging winds for the Southeast.
“This back to back is very unusual to see but it is because of the main surface trough extending over most of the region and destabilising throughout the day,” a BOM spokesman said.
“Damaging wind gusts out over the Bay have been recorded and Brisbane CBD has received 66mm in an hour.
“The storm is expected to last into the night and cease just a bit before midnight before starting back up again at around 10am to 11am tomorrow. There is a potential that the system as a whole will weaken tomorrow but very dangerous isolated thunderstorms are expected.”
BOM have confirmed they are also looking into reports of a tornado over the Gold Coast during Monday night’s deadly storm.
In a statement QPS have confirmed that multiple roads have been impacted by flash flooding and severe weather.
Following a battering of severe storms, Energex responders have labelled the recent carnage as “unprecedented”.
In their latest update Energex confirmed that there are now more than 1000 power lines confirmed down and hundreds of damaged or demolished power poles and transformers.
“Power restoration is a trickle-down process; we need to repair the high voltage network and critical infrastructure first before moving onto the street-level low voltage network,” Energex confirmed.
“We expect to be able to start tackling local networks tomorrow but it won’t be a quick fix – there is just such severe damage, and so much of it.”
More than 122,000 people remain without power including 84,500 around the Gold Coast, 15,600 in the Scenic Rim, 13,600 in Logan, 9,300 in Brisbane and 3,000 in the Redlands.
In the past 24 hours, 280,000 lightning strikes have been recorded in the Southeast region.
SES have confirmed from 3pm on Monday to 3pm today 1400 calls were made to crews, with 1000 of those from the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast areas.
The majority of the calls have been due to structural damage caused by fallen trees and powerlines.
EARLIER
A terrified couple huddled in their bathtub with the family cat as their roof was blown clean off during the wild Gold Coast storm that has left one woman dead and tens of thousands without power, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning there is more to come.
Category 2 cyclone-force winds smashed a large swath of the Gold Coast, downing hundreds of trees, destroying homes and leaving campers fearing for their lives.
An emergency alert has been issued for the Scenic Rim, warning people to stay away from fallen powerlines and avoid damaged roads. Motorists have also been urged to avoid Beaudesert and Tamborine Mountain due to continued road hazards and road closures.
A major flood warning has been issued for Logan River with the Bureau of Meteorology warning parts of it may reach 8.70 metres.
Major flooding is already occurring on the Logan River to Yarrahappini. The Logan River at Beaudesert has risen to 8.32 metres, with concerns it may get higher.
Further west, more storms wreaked havoc in the Darling Downs and Granite Belt region, with power outages spanning from Roma to the coast and more storms possible later on Boxing Day.
Premier Steven Miles said the Christmas storm was “unprecedented” with 123,000 homes without power.
He said the Gold Coast had requested a disaster activation, which the Queensland Reconstruction Authority is considering.
Mr Miles said power was out across the region, with Ergon not seeing such damage before.
“They’ve never seen concrete power poles taken down,” he said.
“It’s going to take a long time for us to get power back on to everybody’s homes,” he told media at 1pm.
“Currently, there are 123,000 homes without power, 82,000 of those are on the Gold Coast followed by 18,000 here in Logan and another 15,600 in the Scenic Rim.”
‘LOVELY LADY’: STORM DEATH VICTIM NAMED
In the most tragic incident to come out of the storms so far, emergency services were called to at a Discovery Drive home at Helensvale around 9.30pm following reports of a fallen tree that had landed on Robyn Carman.
It is understood her car had broken down nearby and she was making the short walk home but died less than 500 metres from her own front door.
Ms Carman, who lived with her sister, has been described as “a lovely lady” who worked at a local bakery.
Residents in the area recalled seeing police cars attending the Helensvale property on Monday night to notify Ms Carman’s devastated relatives.
Neighbours were shocked to hear of her death, calling her a lovely lady.
A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said multiple paramedics attended the scene. Paramedics assessed and treated a female patient with critical injuries and attempted to resuscitate her but she died at the scene.
High acuity response unit critical care paramedic Jaye Newton said they were called to a number of major jobs all at once.
“The first job was a 59-year-old lady who got struck by a fallen tree in the street,” he said.
“She unfortunately suffered a significant head injury and subsequently passed away. We were unable to revive her which was quite confronting and quite sad.”
Mr Newton said when he got to the scene there were trees everywhere.
“It was like a disaster zone, there were trees all over the road. As I was driving there we had to drive around trees on the motorway on Brisbane Road and then up on Discovery drive,” he said.
“When we turned up it was pouring with rain, there were trees right across the road and there was this large tree which was right in the middle of the road which was unfortunately the tree which struck the lady.
“When I turned up, the first paramedics had arrived, did a fantastic job, they initiated resuscitation for the patient immediately and had managed to get her into the ambulance out of the rain.”
Queensland Ambulance Service assistant commissioner Andrew Hebbron said the woman was walking along the street when she was struck by the tree.
“Our hearts absolutely go out to the family of a 59 year old female patient who died last night … an absolutely tragic set of circumstances,” he said.
“A good reminder for the moment especially today, if you don’t need to be on the roads today, we encourage you not to be particularly around the hinterland. There are a lot of trees down.
Mr Hebbron said paramedics did everything they could.
“There were challenging circumstances in that job, there was torrential rain, the storms were still going on,” he said.
“There were downed trees and foliage. They did everything they could.
“At the time the storm came through we saw at least an additional 40 to 50 jobs came in, in a relatively small space of time and that was just in the Gold Coast region.”
POWER TO BE OUT ‘FOR DAYS’
Energex is aware of 875 power lines down with 700 of those on the Gold Coast.
“They’ll call in field crews from other parts of the state to reinforce the crews here in the southeast but it is going to take our time to get this many power poles, this many power lines repaired,” Mr Miles said.
“There are further storms predicted this afternoon so I would just urge all southeast Queenslanders to keep safe and take care of each other.”
As of noon, there had been 250 home claims made to RACQ and 55 motor ones after the dangerous storm.
“As the clean-up begins for people who have been impacted, it’s vital for Queenslanders to take extra caution and make safety the priority,” an RACQ spokesman said.
Jimboomba couple Betty and David Hall were lucky to escape without injury when a tree crashed through their home on Christmas night.
“David went into the lounge and I sort of followed him and then all of a sudden this great big square lump of ceiling came down, rain pouring in,” she said.
“I went out near the front door and it happened again … the roof came down and we were just paddling in water.
“It was scary, I was panicking.
“We’ve had some bad storms through the years but nothing like that.”
Mrs Hall said two strangers emerged from the darkness to move furniture and help the older couple.
“They were just wonderful, they just came up on their own, no one asked them and then they left, they didn’t leave their names,” she said.
“It’s quite tearful … to think people will help out.”
State Emergency Service personnel were at the Hall’s home on Tuesday morning clearing debris and broken roof tiles before preparing to tarp it ahead of more storms predicted on Tuesday evening.
Mrs Hall said the couple had one drink on Christmas Day and hope next year will be better.
“I don’t like these Australian thunderstorms anyway, they’re vicious but this one took the icing,” she said.
Runaway Bay resident Blake Loftus Cloke, whose birthday is on Boxing Day, said it was a “Christmas night and birthday morning to remember”.
“The most intense storm hit us late last night. Our neighbours tell us they’ve never experienced anything like it. Runaway Bay is in tatters, not sure how the rest of the Gold Coast is. But we are okay and the clean up has begun,” Mr Loftus Cloke said.
Fellow Gold Coast resident Alan Doyle woke up to an uprooted tree that had taken out a fence on its way down. He described it as “supercell carnage”.
Evidence of lightning strikes was also plain to see with the car park sign, which usually displays how many spaces are free, at the Costco at Coomera obliterated by a direct hit, leaving charred remains
FAMILIES’ DESPERATE ACTION AS STORMS HIT
Close to the Helensvale address where the woman died, residents feared another couple had also perished after emerging from the storm to see a roof sheared clean off a house on Tamworth Drive.
Craig and Julie Fletcher saw the house across the road missing its roof and feared the worst, before the couple emerged unscathed.
“As soon as I saw them I gave them a big hug,” said Mrs Fletcher.
“I feared they had been crushed.”
She described the woman as “a bit jittery” but the couple seemed otherwise okay after their ordeal.
Mr Newton said the storm was quite ferocious.
“I was driving around this morning and saw large trees had their whole root system had been ripped out of the ground,” he said.
“Unfortunately people in tents have been hit by trees through the night. This is not just a few branches, we are talking whole big trees being uprooted and taken out of the ground.”
He said another patient was trapped for at least an hour.
“We also attended another patient who got trapped in the car from another large tree which fell down in one of the hinterland roads,” he said.
“She was trapped in the car for over an hour while we attempted to extricate her out.
A family of five cowered under a kitchen table as a giant gum tree crashed through their house at the height of the wild Gold Coast storm.
Dan Robbins was at his Helensvale home when he heard a huge crack of lightning strike a massive gum tree in front of his property.
He quickly gathered his family, including three children aged seven and under, and sheltered under the kitchen table just moments before the gum tree came smashing through the house.
Most of the damage took place in the front bedrooms where Mr Robbins’ young daughters were safely tucked in bed moments earlier.
“I nearly lost it,” said Mr Robbins.
“I just about had a full-on panic attack.”
His work ute and boat were also smashed by falling trees and branches.
He said he had complained to the Gold Coast City Council several times about the gum tree as he feared the damage it could do if it fell.
“We’ve been asking the council about that tree for years,” he said.
‘UNIMAGINABLE DESTRUCTION’
The State Emergency Service were called to 350 calls for help on the Gold Coast, 56 calls on Logan and 40 on Scenic Rim between 6.30pm on Christmas Day and 4am on Boxing Day. Those calls were largely related to structural damage, trees down and roofs off.
Fire and Rescue Service crews were also called to about 140 jobs on the Gold Coast after trees fell on homes, cars, caravans and the road.
Justin Howard, in Pimpama reported seeing trees and fences down everywhere.
“Gotta be one of the biggest storms I’ve seen here,” he said.
Another Gold Coast resident, Demelza Stimpson, said “the destruction to the bush behind our place is unimaginable”.
“I don’t see anyone having power for days to come,” she said.
Movie World, Wet n Wild, Dreamworld, White Water World, Top Golf and Paradise Country have all been closed as a result of damage caused by the storms.
“Dreamworld and White Water World will be CLOSED today December 26th due to the effects of last night’s storm,” a social post confirmed.
“Further updates will be provided, and we appreciate your support and patience as we prepare the park for your return.”
Movie World also posted on socials.
“Due to severe storm damage Warner Bros. Movie World – Gold Coast, Australia will unfortunately not be able to operate today,” the post said.
“We hope to reopen as normal tomorrow and will provide an update on the website and social media.”
Gold Coast local Ethan Westley reported seeing widespread damage at Dreamworld.
“Just drove to work at Dreamworld and Upper Coomera is a mess at the moment, downed trees and debris scattered everywhere,” he said.
Holiday-makers in the BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park at Helensvale are lucky to be alive, with footage showing tents flattened and cars smashed by Monday’s wild storm.
The eerie scene was revealed in footage shot by Sally Camper in the immediate aftermath, which reveals her mum’s squashed car.
“It’s been horrendous – we’re in a bit of dire straits,” she said.
“Everything’s gone … lucky nobody’s dead.
“The storm’s coming back in again, we’re going to get out while we can.”
110K WITHOUT POWER ON BOXING DAY
About 127,000 homes were left without power in the peak of the storms at the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan.
More than 500 wires have been reported on the ground. An Energex spokesman said they had reports of 32m concrete ripped out near Beaudesert with a lot of damage as a result of old-growth gums with a huge amount of foliage bringing powerlines down.
As of 6.30am, about 110,000 customers were still without power with the spokesman warning restoration won’t be done overnight, with crews possibly working for days to fix everything.
Crews assessed the damage on Monday night, with more assessing it this morning to work out what needs to be tackled.
The spokesman said it was important people steer clear from power lines as they could still be live and if moving foliage or other debris to triple check there were no power lines caught up.
A crane has also been brought down from a construction site at First Ave at Burleigh Heads, blocking traffic.
The worst-hit areas included Coomera, Coombabah, Helensvale and Pacific Pines on the northern Gold Coast, Beaudesert in the Scenic Rim and Eagleby at Logan.
The State Emergency Service received more than 120 call-outs, most relating to trees fallen on to houses.
Gold Coast residents reported 40 minutes of continuous lightning prior to a barrage of severe rain, damaging winds and hail.
Social media was awash with reports of property damage, from fallen trees crushing roofs and cars to smashed windows and water ingress.
There were two reports of wind gusts over 100km/h on Monday, or equivalent to a category 2 cyclone: Gold Coast Seaway at 106km/h and Wellcamp on the Darling Downs at 102km/h.
Elsewhere on the Downs, winds at Oakey reached 96km/h and Toowoomba 93km/h.
The severe storm warning was cancelled about 10.30pm as the system tracked toward North Stradbroke and Moreton islands.
Prior to the storms the southeast enjoyed a fine, hot and sunny Christmas Day.
Despite fears Sunday’s severe weather and power outages would be repeated on Monday, spoiling Christmas celebrations, the storms held off till evening.
It meant the annual backyard cricket match, cocktails by the pool and outdoor Christmas lunches were able to go ahead as planned.
Following Christmas Eve’s destructive storm, many families were left without power on Christmas Day.
Energex crews spent much of the day restoring power to thousands of homes and businesses across South East Queensland.
More than 11,000 customers remained without power about 9am on Christmas Day, before numbers fell to the hundreds by the afternoon.
More storm activity is expected for the southeast on Tuesday and Wednesday before easing on Thursday.
HEATWAVE DECLARED AFTER SEVERE STORMS
As the Southeast is continuously peppered by severe storms, the majority of Queensland is in for a week of extreme heat with the Bureau officially declaring a heatwave event.
An extreme heatwave warning has been declared for the Gulf Country District and a severe heatwave warning has been declared for the Northern Goldfields, Upper Flinders, Herbert, Lower Burdekin and Southeast Coast districts.
In Tuesday afternoons release, BOM urged residents in affected areas to be weary of heatstroke and stay indoors if compromised.
“Maximum temperatures in the mid to high thirties, increasing to the low to mid forties over western parts of the state,” the warning said.
“Severe to extreme heatwave conditions building over northern Queensland, extending over broad parts of western and central Queensland over coming days.
“Severe heatwave conditions also developing over parts of southeastern Queensland, peaking over the mid to latter part of the week before gradually easing with a reduction in temperatures over the weekend.
“Locations likely to be impacted include Brisbane Metropolitan Area, Burketown, Beaudesert, Croydon, Caboolture, Doomadgee, Hughenden, Ipswich and Normanton.”
WASTEWATER RELEASED INTO BRISBANE RIVER
A wastewater release into the Brisbane River at Morningside has been detected following Christmas Day’s storm carnage.
In an alert via social media, Urban Utilities urged residents to temporarily avoid any direct contact with the impacted part of the Brisbane River between Vic Lucas Park at Bulimba and Colmslie Recreation Reserve at Murarrie.
“The release occurred through a ‘temporary emergency relief overflow structure’,” the alert said.
“The emergency relief point is used to protect homes and businesses from overflow when too much stormwaters enters the wastewater system.
“We’ve taken immediate action and have notified the Department of Environment and Science and are carrying out water sampling.”
Urban Utilities has urged anyone who may be concerned with their health after coming into contact with wastewater to call a doctor or go to hospital.
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