Wild storm RIPS through Australian town ripping roofs off homes and sparking power outage for 20,000 people
- A freak storm has swept through the south-east Queensland city of Logan
- More than 52mm of rain was dumped in parts of the region between 4-5pm
- Locals on Tuesday posted snaps of fallen trees and roofs torn from houses
A wild storm has ripped through the south-east Queensland city of Logan on Tuesday afternoon brining wild winds that tore roofs from houses, toppled trees and left 20,000 properties without power.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area between Brisbane and the Gold Coast just before 5pm.
‘A small but strong thunderstorm has developed near Logan and is moving quickly towards bayside suburbs. Damaging winds, heavy rainfall, and hail are possible,’ the Bureau said.
Rathdowny, about an hour south-west of Logan in the Darling Down region, was drenched with 52mm of rain recorded between 4 and 5pm.
Some residents said the powerful storm had already hit when the warning was issued and they were unexpectedly without power – with the grid already straining under record demand amid a severe heatwave.
One house had the roof ripped away in the wild winds with a brick chimney also toppled (pictured)
The Logan area was already hit by a heatwave which is set to last until Wednesday when the storm hit on Tuesday afternoon (pictured)
Powerlink Chief Executive Paul Simshauser said on Tuesday as residents stay indoors using air-conditioners, appliances and electronics the electricity required would likely surpass the previous high point set in 2019.
‘We’re encouraging electricity customers to reduce their energy consumption where safe to do so over the next two days,’ Mr Simshauser said.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also warned that the grid may battle to cope as demand peaks in the next few days as temperatures continue to soar in central and southeast Queensland.
‘We do expect to see the peak of use of all of our energy supplies this evening,’ Ms Palaszczuk said.
South-east Queenslanders have been sweltering through temperatures in the high 30’s while further west exceeded 40C combined with high humidity thanks to recent rains and the La Nina weather system.
The mercury in Brisbane hit 36C on Tuesday with an apparent temperature of 39C.
A large tree collapsed on this house narrowly avoiding the main structure (pictured)
A burst of torrential rain also hit the area soaking the ground and causing minor flash flooding (pictured)
Energex reported more than 23,000 emergency outages in the state’s southeast alone by 5pm on Tuesday courtesy of the increased demand combined with the storms and maintenance works.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said the energy supplies were already operating on a reduced capacity.
But he assured Queenslanders that essential services such as hospitals, transport networks, ports, airports and other key infrastructure would stay online.
One local captured the ominous dark clouds of the summer heatwave storm as they rolled over (pictured)
He said power companies were already working to limit demand, with big industrial users being asked to reduce their use.
‘It is possible that Queensland’s previous record demand of 10,044MW will be exceeded on either today or tomorrow,’ he said.
‘While we are working with major electricity users to manage demand, households can also take simple steps to help like turning off devices that are on standby and other appliances where it is safe to do so during the evening peak.’
The damaging winds toppled this large tree down in Logan on Tuesday just metres from powerlines (pictured)