Brisbane, South East Queensland prepare for more storms as almost 100,000 left without power
By lunchtime, 86,500 customers were still without power.
Energex’s Danny Donald said crews had restored power to 70,000 properties overnight, but warned it could take at least a day or two to restore power to some of the worst-hit areas, particularly the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast regions.
Greetings from Ferny Hills on Monday.
“We’ve got another 300 crew there today, plus additional crew coming from Toowoomba and the Wide Bay, Hervey Bay area, so we’re putting everything into that,” he told 4BC radio.
“The hardest hit area is of course the area north of Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.”
But Donald warned that electrical restoration would be more of a marathon than a sprint.
“They’re doing their best to get this done as soon as possible, but it’s only going to take another day or two,” he said.
Falling branches on Riverside Drive in the West End.Credit: Felicity Caldwell
A Moreton Bay Regional Council spokesman said damage to the city’s energy infrastructure was significantly worse than other parts of Queensland’s south-east, with more than 400 SES works in the area, 21 council roads and seven major roads closed.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said hail up to 11 to 12 centimeters in diameter was recorded in Manly, Ferny Hills and Alexandra Hills on Monday, with heavy rainfall across the region.
And he warned that more storms were expected on Tuesday.
Moreton Island had the highest rainfall of 80mm, most of which fell within 30 minutes, with around 40 to 60mm near Brisbane Airport, and there were reports of flash flooding.
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Thunderstorms that could lead to flash flooding are expected Tuesday afternoon or night, possibly with high winds, large hail and heavy rain.
“And that could impact places that were hit pretty hard last night,” he said.
Brisbane was expected to reach 35 degrees on Tuesday.
Pat Murphy, president of the Queensland Association of State School Principals, said many schools were on lockdown as severe storms hit just after school bell time on Monday.
“We had parents in front of the schools… our main concern was the safety of the children,” he said.
Murphy commended teachers and teacher aides who stayed with students for “more than an hour” at some schools before they were picked up.
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