Ten dead from storms in Australia, thousands without power

SYDNEY:

Ten people have died in Australia after severe storms battered the country’s east over the Christmas holiday, authorities said on Wednesday, while tens of thousands of properties remain without power.

Wild weather hit the states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland on 25 and 26 December bringing large hail and torrential rain. Strong winds blew off roofs and downed trees in some of the worst-hit areas. More than 90,000 households remain without electricity.

Three men were killed when a yacht with 11 people on board capsized near Green Island in Moreton Bay during the storm, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters.

Two women were found dead near the town of Gympie, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of the state capital Brisbane, after they were swept into flooded storm drains, police said. A nine-year-old girl has been found dead after disappearing into a storm drain in Brisbane’s south.

Authorities warned that fast-rising rivers and streams could burst their banks, flooding the camps, which are usually crowded during the Christmas and New Year weeks.

A man has been found dead at a campsite in Victoria after flash flooding, police said. He is believed to have been camping there with a woman who was found dead on Tuesday.

Two killed by falling trees.

The storm brought down a concrete power line, which was “quite significant and unprecedented”, Queensland Premier Stephen Miles said during a media briefing. Miles said the damage from Cyclone Jasper, which hit the state earlier this month, and the latest storms could be “in the billions.”

Reading Thousands have been urged to higher ground as Australia battles flooding

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has forecast further rain, although the wild weather is expected to ease later on Wednesday.

“Fortunately today, we don’t expect to see such widespread storm activity, but there is still a risk of severe storms across the East Coast,” meteorologist Jonathan How told ABC television.

The storms follow intense heatwaves in the spring that led to several wildfires and the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper that caused extensive damage.

“When you start to put together the experiences of this summer so far, it’s clear that we’re living in a time of escalating climate consequences,” said Simon Bradshaw, director of research at the independent non-profit Climate Council.

As Australia battles rain in the east, several areas in the west are battling bushfires. A volunteer firefighter was killed while responding to a forest fire, media reported.

Australia’s December-February summer is under the influence of the El Niño phenomenon, which can cause extreme weather conditions ranging from bushfires to cyclones and prolonged droughts.