Young woman in hospital after lightning strike

A young woman remains in hospital after being hit by lightning while at work in Brisbane’s east early this morning. It comes as more storms are forecast to roll in across the southeast.

A YOUNG woman has been taken to hospital after lighting struck a crane she was working in early this morning.

The woman, aged in her 20s, was working through the storm in a crane just off the Port of Brisbane’s Port Drv when the vehicle was struck by lightning about 2.50am.

She was transported in a stable condition to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

M1 REOPENS AFTER WILD STORMS

VIDEO: MANY ROWS BOAT DOWN FLOODED GOLD COAST STREET

Storms continued to pepper southeast Queensland overnight with heavy falls recorded on the Sunshine Coast and the Wide Bay area.

The weather bureau warns the storms will continue throughout Sunday but the rainfall is likely to be far less, with falls of up to 40mm predicted.

“We could see showers and thunderstorms developing throughout the afternoon but we’re not expecting rainfall rates to be as intense,” meteorologist Kimba Wong said.

Falls of 20 to 40mm are predicted for the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

“Possibly a little bit higher if you do get a storm roll over you,” Ms Wong said.

Overnight, areas around Bundaberg in the Wide Bay-Burnett region were the hardest hit, with 95mm of rain falling in the six hours to midnight. Collum on the Sunshine Coast also received a drenching, with 91mm of rain recorded.

“The Gold Coast pretty much missed out last night, which is probably a good thing - just a couple of light rainfall totals of 5 to 10mm,” Ms Wong said.

“Most of the action was around the Sunshine Coast, where there may have even been some flash flooding just because the land was already so wet from the night before.”

Flooding continues to subside on the Gold Coast after some areas recorded triple their usual monthly rainfall on Friday night and Saturday morning.

The deluge hit Loders Creek the hardest with 325mm of rain falling in 12 hours, and more than 200mm recorded in parts of the Gold Coast Hinterland.

The heavy rainfall also left thousands of motorists trapped in traffic gridlock after the Pacific Motorway on the Gold Coast was cut for almost seven hours on Saturday. It reopened just before midday.