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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani and Emily Wind

Wild weather continues after stormy night – as it happened

Damage in the aftermath of Christmas night storms in Queensland’s south-east
Damage in the aftermath of Christmas night storms in Queensland’s south-east. Photograph: CoastfishTV

What we learned: Tuesday, 26 December

With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Stay safe out there; we’ll be back first thing tomorrow with all the latest. Here were today’s major stories:

  • A man has died after a tree branch fell on him in Victoria this morning, at a private property in Caringal just after 9am today.

  • A major flood warning is in place for Logan in Queensland, while major flooding is occurring at Beaudesert.

  • Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter.

  • A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Melbourne, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall.

  • Melbourne airport has said travellers can expect delays for the rest of today as a result of the severe thunderstorm moving across the city.

  • The QLD deputy premier, Cameron Dick, said last night’s storm “can only be described as a mini cyclone,” while asking for patience as power is restored.

  • The deaths of two people at Central Coast beaches on Christmas Day are being treated as medical episodes rather than drownings, police say.

  • The number of customers in south-east Queensland without power surpassed 120,000, according to energy provider Energex.

Updated

Far north Queensland’s Douglas Shire ‘open for business’ after flooding, mayor says

A far north Queensland mayor has said the region of Douglas Shire is open and ready for visitors after ex-tropical cyclone Jasper, AAP reports.

The shire, which is north of Cairns, encompasses Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge and the Daintree.

Clean-up work in the region is continuing after major flooding in the wake of ex-tropical cyclone Jasper.

“There’s a lot of work yet to be done but we’re open for business and welcoming visitors,” mayor, Michael Kerr, said.

Tourism operators are urging holidaymakers not to cancel plans to visit the region.

“Our restaurants, cafes, tour operators and accommodation are all systems go so we encourage anyone planning to pay us a visit to please drop in and stay for a while,” Tourism Port Douglas Daintree chief executive, Glen Hingley, said.

“I promise you won’t want to leave.”

Crews around Port Douglas and Mossman have reconnected more than 200km of water pipelines.

But on Tuesday the council warned residents to avoid unnecessary water consumption, including taking long showers and washing clothes.

Water levels in some reservoirs had dropped “dramatically”, and heavy rain and landslides on Monday night had caused issues in the treatment process.

“It is imperative that residents and businesses that are on mains supply reduce their water consumption immediately,” Kerr said.

“If the demand for water does not decrease, council will be compelled to implement rolling limitations and/or stopping of supply across the shire.”

He asked people to avoid taking long showers, using the washing machine, filling pools and using the hose for cleaning or watering lawns.

More than 4,200 property damage assessments have been completed since Jasper delivered heavy rain and damaging winds.

Twelve homes have been confirmed destroyed, 126 properties are severely damaged and 554 moderately so.

Close to 9,000 residents have received financial assistance payments.

Updated

The BoM has updated their weather warning for thunderstorms in NSW to include Monaro, where large hail is forecast:

Updated

Sydney to Hobart starts with Scallywag taking penalty turn early on

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race began in dramatic fashion as line honours dark horse SHK Scallywag completed a 720-degree penalty turn in a bid to avoid a possible time sanction, AAP reports.

Two-and-a-half hours into the race, which got under way in Sydney at lunchtime on Tuesday, LawConnect held a slight lead over rival supermaxis Andoo Comanche and Scallywag as the fleet began the journey down the NSW coast in light north-easterly winds.

Reigning line honours champion and 2023 favourite Andoo Comanche lodged an early protest, accusing Scallywag of tacking too close to her.

The boats appeared to come within metres of each other as they made their way out of Sydney Harbour.

Comanche’s crew could be heard on broadcast coverage yelling “protest” to the Hong Kong-based 100-footer before formally flying a red flag.

Scallywag thrives in lighter winds such as those reported at the start of the race and, hoping to lead the fleet out of the heads, was slow to react to the protest flag.

But the fact the incident had taken place in the harbour meant Scallywag had only a limited distance in which to complete the penalty turns, or risk receiving a time sanction on arrival in Hobart.

In 2017, Wild Oats XI opted not to respond to a protest from Comanche early in the race and a subsequent one-hour time penalty cost her a line honours victory.

Race officials confirmed Scallywag had completed the turn off the coast of Bondi Beach and in the process fallen slightly behind rival supermaxis Comanche and LawConnect.

Overall honours contenders URM Group and Alive appeared the best-placed of the smaller boats as the fleet approached the south coast.

Updated

In better news however, the severe thunderstorm warning for some areas of Melbourne has been cancelled:

Updated

The BoM is warning that giant hailstones are likely to fall in Gosford this afternoon:

Updated

Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you for the rest of the afternoon.

Updated

Thanks for joining me on the liveblog today. Mostafa Rachwani will take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Please take care!

Wet’n’Wild and Movie World theme parks to reopen tomorrow on Gold Coast

The Wet’n’Wild and Movie World Gold Coast theme parks will both reopen as normal tomorrow, after they were closed today due to severe storm damage.

A statement from Village Roadshow Theme Parks said:

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we dealt with the aftermath of the severe storm. We look forward to welcoming you back.

Paradise Country and Topgolf will both remain closed due to the ongoing clean up efforts. Paradise Country will reopen on 30 December:

All the animals are safe and our team will continue to care for them during the closure.

Meanwhile, Topgolf will be closed “until further notice”.

Updated

Thunderstorm halts Boxing Day Test play at MCG

The thunderstorm in Melbourne has stopped play midway through day one of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

As James Wallace reported, the players scattered from the field as boos bounced around the MCG.

You can follow all the updates live on our separate blog:

Updated

Just checking in with the number of south-east Queenslanders without power: according to Energex, 118,304 customers are without power.

This is has gone down from the more than 126,000 who were without power at about 10.45am local time today.

Updated

Delays at Melbourne airport expected for rest of the day due to weather

Melbourne airport has said travellers can expect delays for the rest of today as a result of the severe thunderstorm moving across the city.

A spokesperson said the airport is experiencing airborne delays, with flights holding and circling for anything between 20 and 40 minutes waiting to land.

While we’ve got lightning within five kilometres of the airfield, ground handlers can’t be out on the airfield, so that causes more delays as well to departures.

The spokesperson didn’t have a number on how many specific flights are affected, but said there are “quite a few aircraft holding at the moment waiting to land”, with delays expected for the rest of the day.

Updated

Severe thunderstorm detected near Melbourne airport

Here is the latest from the bureau on the severe weather warning covering Melbourne and surrounds:

At 2.20pm severe thunderstorms – likely to produce damaging winds and heavy rainfall, which could lead to flash flooding – were detected near Melbourne Airport, Tullamarine and the area west of Sunbury.

They are forecast to affect Melton, St Albans and Sydenham by 2.50pm and Mt Cottrell, Rockbank and the area south of Bacchus Marsh by 3.20pm.

We have contacted Melbourne airport to confirm if there are any associated flight delays or impacts.

Updated

‘Very dangerous thunderstorm’ headed for NSW Central Coast

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that a “very dangerous thunderstorm” bringing giant hailstones and destructive winds, and which may lead to flash flooding, was detected near Freemans Waterhole and Awaba, NSW at 2.05pm.

The thunderstorm is moving south and is forecast to affect Toukley, Wyong and Tuggerah by 2.35pm and Gosford, Woy Woy and Terrigal by 3.05 pm.

Updated

Huge hail is falling in Bishops Bridge near Maitland, NSW this afternoon:

I am blogging from a small town in Lake Macquarie, NSW today, and the hail has just started here!

Grenfell hailstorm damages property and vehicles, but no injuries

The Riverina MP Michael McCormack says he has been in contact with the Weddin mayor after Grenfell was hit with large hail and damaging storms on Christmas Day.

Residents at Grenfell were treated to something like a white Christmas, as hail blanketed the town shortly after noon yesterday. Emergency crews responded to 41 incidents in the town and NSW SES assistant commissioner, Sean Kearns, said there were numerous reports of property damage, including “broken skylights, parts of roofs, broken windows and damaged vehicles”.

McCormack said the local mayor Craig Bembrick reported damage to cars, caravans, houses and other possessions amid yesterday’s storm.

Fortunately he advises no one is known to be injured.

Have contacted the [Insurance Council of Australia] to raise awareness of the matter and have requested any insurance claims to be processed as high priority. The Insurance Council advises any affected residents to lodge their claim as soon as possible. Please stay safe.

Updated

Here is a severe weather update published this afternoon from the Bureau of Meteorology, explaining today’s forecast in more detail:

Elmore residents in Victoria told not to drink tap water

Moving away from the storms momentarily: the Victorian community of Elmore (northeast of Bendigo) is being told not to drink the tap water, as it is not safe.

A message from the Department of Health said the town’s clear water storage tank had been drained following an issue at the Elmore Water Treatment Plant on Christmas Day.

As of 1.30pm yesterday, the tap water was not safe to drink and remains unsafe.

The department’s message said boiling the tap water will not make it safe, and people should only drink bottled water.

Further details can be found here.

Updated

‘Very dangerous’ thunderstorm headed for Sydney

Meanwhile the “very dangerous” thunderstorm moving south towards Sydney this afternoon is currently near Maitland, the Bureau said:

Updated

As we flagged just earlier, a severe thunderstorm is making its way to Melbourne and surrounds.

They are forecast to affect Greensborough, Lilydale and Ringwood by 2.00pm (in around ten minutes’ time) and Caulfield, Glen Waverley, Melbourne City, Preston and Sunbury by 2.30 pm, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Some Gold Goast theme parks closed after severe thunderstorms

The Gold Coast theme parks Wet’n’Wild and Movie World have both been closed today following last night’s severe weather.

A statement from Village Roadshow earlier today said it planned to reopen both parks tomorrow.

This video, filmed by a driver on Passenger Road, shows the extent of the damage to the theme parks:

Updated

Gold Coast emergency alert on fallen power lines, damaged roads and trees

The City of Gold Coast has issued an emergency alert, advising people to stay away from fallen power lines, avoid damaged roads and be wary of fallen trees, following last night’s disastrous storm.

Emergency services are continuing their work to clear affected areas today, and residents are being asked to only travel in the area if necessary.

Updated

Send us your stormy weather photos, videos and more

With severe weather warnings in place along much of the east coast today, we would be keen to hear your first-hand accounts of the stormy weather to help keep blog readers informed.

Please send any of your photos, videos and accounts of the storms to us on social media @GuardianAus and @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

And as always, please stay safe. Dangerous weather like this is always concerning, but especially so during the holidays.

Updated

Murray Watt expresses condolences for family of Gold Coast woman killed in storm

The emergency management minister, Murray Watt, has sent his condolences to the family of a Gold Coast woman killed in last night’s storm.

In a post to X/Twitter, he urged the community to keep informed ahead of further storms forecast today.

Many on the east coast recovering from severe storms today and more forecast for today. Our thoughts go out to the family of Gold Coast woman killed in last night’s storm. Pls keep an eye on your local [BoM] & SES sites for warnings – these storms can be very dangerous.

Updated

Severe thunderstorm warning for Melbourne

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Melbourne, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall.

At 1.15pm severe thunderstorms that could lead to flash flooding were detected near Kinglake and Mt Macedon.

The thunderstorms are forecast to affect Gisborne, Lilydale and Yarra Glen by 1.45pm and Craigieburn, Greensborough, Ringwood and Sunbury by 2.15 pm.

Updated

Boxing Day sales estimated to hit $4.6bn in total

Thousands of Australians are already braving Boxing Day sales to snap up a bargain after a year compounded by a cost-of-living crisis, AAP reports.

Retail experts say it’s not in spite of cost-of-living pressure that people are planning to spend big on Boxing Day, but because of it.

The Australian Retailers Association estimates Australians will splurge $1.25 billion on “unprecedented” deals with shoppers hoping to stretch their dollar further during discounts and sales.

“Boxing Day is the grand final of Australia’s favourite sport, shopping,” Association boss Paul Zahra said.

Australia’s biggest bank expects almost one in two people to participate in the sales, spending an estimated $4.6bn in total.

While more people are planning to shop the Boxing Day sales than in previous years, people are planning to spend less, Commonwealth Bank personal finance expert Jess Irvine said.

The average planned spend this year is $475.70 compared to a planned average spend of $483.20 in 2022 and $557.05 in 2021.

The driving demographic involved in Boxing Day shopping are those aged 39 and under, reflecting data from a recent CommBank IQ cost of living report which found younger Australians are feeling the most pain from rising prices.

“Aussie household budgets are being squeezed on multiple fronts, so it is not surprising that individual shoppers are tightening their belts,” Irvine said.

Updated

More than 500 NSW volunteers helping with Christmas SES rescues

The NSW SES has provided an update to the rescue and repair efforts after last nights storm, with 25 flood rescues enacted, mostly in eastern Sydney, and on the south coast.

Sean Kearns, the NSW SES assistant commissioner, told reporters there were more than 500 volunteers helping with rescue efforts on Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we saw the worst of the flash flooding where we did over 25 flood rescues, the majority of those in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

Yesterday we saw some flash flooding around the South Coast and Illawarra areas where we attended the six flood rescues and in the early evening, SES volunteers attended a caravan park in Kiama to assist the family which whose our caravan had been impacted by flash flooding with water up to their knees.

We saw a severe thunderstorm with large hail hit the regional community of Greenfeld where we saw over 50 calls for assistance due to the damage that the hail cause it caused damage to roofs, skylights, windows and cars.

Updated

Storm expected to hit start of Sydney to Hobart

As we reported just earlier, a severe thunderstorm system detected near Gosford is moving towards Sydney, forecast to reach the city and the Sydney Harbour Bridge by 1pm this afternoon.

Competitors in this year’s Sydney to Hobart race are due to depart from the harbour at 1pm. You can read more on this below:

Updated

Concrete power poles damaged for first time in Queensland ‘mini cyclone'

Deputy premier Cameron Dick said that last night’s storm “can only be described as a mini cyclone”.

Dick, who is a Logan local, urged the community to stay safe, calm and patient as emergency crews work to repair damage to homes and energy infrastructure. More than 126,000 customers are without power, according to Energex.

Dick said:

Our crews are working overtime, as hard as they can, to get power connected. It is going to take some time, as you’ve heard from the premier.

This has been unprecedented in some ways, with power poles being torn out of the ground and a concrete power pole damaged for the first time ever by a storm. That just gives you an insight to this severity and the destructive nature of the storm.

Updated

Concrete power lines destroyed

Queensland premier Steven Miles is speaking to the media after last night’s disastrous storms affecting south-eastern parts of the state.

To give a sense of how unprecedented the storms were, Miles said this is the first time emergency services had seen concrete power poles taken down by a storm:

This is the first time we have seen a storm so intense in the south-east that it has taken down concrete power poles.

It will take days to get all of them repaired. I spoken to the mayors of Logan and Gold Coast, they have the situation in hand through their local disaster management groups.

He thanked emergency crews who responded to emergency callouts through the night. Miles said there had been 180 triple zero calls overnight and 450 requests for SES assistance.

Updated

Severe thunderstorms moving towards Sydney

Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter.

The Bureau of Meteorology said at 12.30pm, severe thunderstorms likely to produce damaging winds and large hail were detected near the Dungog district, the Gresford district and Lakemba.

The thunderstorms were moving south, forecast to affect Sydney city and Wyong by 1pm and Gosford, Morpeth and Tocal by 1.30pm.

A low pressure system is situated in the state’s south-west. A humid and “very unstable” airmass along and to the east of the trough, supported by strong upper winds, will cause the development of severe thunderstorms this afternoon.

Updated

Q: A few months ago we were told that we’re now in an El Nino phase, characterised by drought conditions, so why are we seeing so much severe wet weather right now?

Angus Hines explained that we are still in an El Nino, and its impacts are seen when you look at weather patterns over the course of months and seasons as a whole.

When you look over the course of a six month span during El Nino you will see large parts of the country that get drier than average weather, but that doesn’t mean that every day, every week, or even every month is dry.

It is not uncommon in an El Nino year to still get a wet week or a wet month. We have certainly had frequent stormy outbreaks throughout the last month, since towards the end of November right through until Christmas. That has given some parts of the country above average rainfall over the last month…

When we look back over the past six months we will see many places drier than normal, including the driest three-month period ever across Australia through earlier months of the year. A little bit of rain over the course of a week or a month through El Nino [is] not uncommon, though we do expect to see overall drier conditions.

More storms possible

Angus Hines flagged that a number of severe thunderstorms, plus heavy rain, were lashing Gippsland and eastern Victoria:

Just in the last hour or two a band of severe thunderstorms [were] developing around the central parts of Victoria.

There’s a few isolated storms further north but in general it’s been a more settled morning.

The risk is certainly there for more storms, more severe storms, to develop across eastern and south-eastern Queensland, as well as eastern New South Wales – could see some more severe storms today.

Updated

What’s causing the storms?

Senior meteorologist Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology just spoke to ABC News about the severe thunderstorms hitting the east coast.

He explained the weather pattern behind them:

[It is] primarily driven by some warm humid air in the low levels of the atmosphere, which is partly contributed to by a ton of warm ocean temperatures off the east coast of Australia providing a lot of that warmth and humidity into the atmosphere.

We also have a big low pressure system higher up which just provides that extra energy and support which allows these thunderstorms do develop and grow, and as you say, they have been causing extensive disruptive weather over the last few days.

While the bureau is still crunching the numbers, Hines said it was likely parts of Victoria, NSW and Queensland will have all recorded their wettest Christmas on record.

Updated

Man killed by tree branch in Victoria

A man has died after a tree branch fell on him in Victoria this morning.

According to Victorian police, the tree branch fell at a private property in Caringal just after 9am today.

Emergency services provided medical assistance but the man died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

This comes after a woman died in Helensvale on the Gold Coast last night after being hit by a falling tree.

Updated

Power outage breakdown

The number of customers in south-east Queensland without power has now surpassed 126,000, according to energy provider Energex.

Some of the most impacted areas as 10.45am local time at include:

Upper Coomera – nine outages, 6,102 customers affected
Helensvale – nine outages, 5,131 customers affected
Nerang – eight outages, 4,377 customers affected
Tamborine Mountain – four outages, 4,053 customers affected
Coombabah – seven outages, 3,944 customers affected
Biggera Waters – six outages, 3,678 customers affected
Beaudesert – two outages, 3,582 customers affected
Oxenford – 11 outages, 3,490 customers affected

Updated

Threat of ‘very dangerous’ thunderstorms again today

Looking at the weather more broadly across Queensland today, the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts, large hail and heavy rainfall in the eastern districts.

It warns that isolated, “very dangerous” severe thunderstorms are possible again today.

Senior meteorologist Angus Hines told me earlier that severe thunderstorms were likely for “pretty large swathes” of the country today, from central Queensland down to Melbourne:

Many spots will probably have a bit of a bright start to the day, with sunshine and some fairly pleasant weather, but the risk of further severe thunderstorms developing through this afternoon into the evening is definitely there.

It does include those places that were hit pretty hard yesterday around south-east Queensland, there’s a chance there’ll be more severe thunderstorms in that part of the country later on today.

Updated

Logan River floods

A major flood warning is in place for Logan in Queensland, while major flooding is occurring at Beaudesert.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the major flooding extends along the Logan River to Yarrahappini. The Logan River at Beaudesert was at 8.32m and rising this morning, due to reach 8.7m.

Downstream of Yarrahappini minor flooding was occurring at Maclean Bridge, at 4.09m and rising. BoM said it may rise and exceed the minor flood level of 10m overnight into tomorrow, with further rises possible.

Updated

Thunderstorm warning for Gippsland

Earlier, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Gippsland in Victoria, with BoM warning heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding over the next several hours, affecting locations such as Morwell.

75mm of rainfall was recorded at East Sale over just three hours this morning, and 53.2mm at Balook in just two hours.

Updated

Two people die at Central Coast beaches

The deaths of two people at Central Coast beaches on Christmas Day are being treated as medical episodes rather than drownings, police say.

About 11am yesterday, emergency services were called to Umina beach after a surfer was pulled from the water. Police said surf lifesavers had performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but the man could not be revived and died at the scene.

He has yet to be identified. Officers will prepare a report for the coroner but initial inquiries suggest the man “may have suffered a medical episode”, according to police.

About 6.40pm emergency services were called to Copacabana beach after a swimmer suffered a medical episode in the water.

A surfer took the man, aged in his 70s, to the shore where he was assisted by lifesavers but he could not be revived. Water police will again prepare a report for the coroner.

Updated

Power outages across south-east Queensland

As of 10.15am local time, more than 123,000 customers across south-east Queensland were without power after the severe thunderstorms overnight.

In a post to X/Twitter, energy provider Energex said more than 800 power lines were down across the Gold Coast, the Scenic Rim and Logan, with severe damage to the network.

Earlier Danny Donald from Energex said repair work would take “days in some cases”, with old-growth gum trees blocking roads across the network and debris “everywhere”.

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, he said crews had been working all night, with fresh crews coming onboard this morning:

It’s really becoming a marathon. This isn’t going to be a sprint, it’s a big job and some places, particularly in the more wooded areas, may be without power for a few days, the way it’s looking.

Updated

Emergency alert for Scenic Rim

An emergency alert has been issued for Queensland’s Scenic Rim region by the local disaster management group, advising people to stay away from fallen power lines and to avoid damaged roads.

People are urged to call triple zero in life-threatening situations, or the SES for disaster assistance.

Between 6.30pm on Christmas night and 4am today, the Queensland SES received nearly 450 calls for help on the Gold Coast, and across Logan and the Scenic Rim.

Updated

Good morning

And happy Boxing Day – welcome back to another day on the Australia news live blog. You’ve got Emily Wind with you and I’ll be bringing you the latest today, mostly related to the east coast storms.

As we’ve been reporting this morning, one woman has died and more than 120,000 customers in south-east Queensland are without power as a result of severe thunderstorms on Christmas night.

Intense storms affected Queensland, NSW and Victoria on Monday, with more than 1,200 calls for help to state emergency services, and Sydney airport recording its wettest Christmas Day on record.

I spoke to senior meteorologist Angus Hines from the weather bureau just earlier, who said the weather pattern along the east coast these last few days – where relatively sunny and clear mornings were followed by intense storms in the evening – is likely to repeat today.

He said severe storms were possible for “pretty large swathes of the country”, from central Queensland all the way down to Melbourne on Tuesday.

We will keep you updated with the latest on this, plus any other news this Tuesday.

Let’s get into it.

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