Brisbane storms and hail leave nearly 100,000 without power as trees downed and roofs stripped

Nearly 100,000 households were left without power across Queensland and a dozen public schools closed after a mammoth storm brought 110km/h winds and 12cm hail that tore through parts of the state on Monday. Queensland SES officials responded to about 2,200 calls in the hours to 2.30am, more than two-thirds of which were for structural issues with homes and buildings, including damaged roofs and windows. A majority of those calls were in the Brisbane area and the surrounding suburbs, with a lot of significant damage being reported on Bribie Island, Queensland police said. There was at least one report of a car being flipped over due to the winds and many properties had sustained substantial damage, either from hail or fallen trees. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “Look, from everything we’ve seen, it’s trees down, roofs off,” Heather, a resident of Bribie Island, told Brisbane’s 4BC program this morning. “It’s just an absolute mess.” Energex, the energy supplier for more than 1.4 million customers in south-east Queensland, was reporting nearly 100,000 outages on Tuesday morning, stretching from the Gold Coast up towards Gympie, north of the Sunshine Coast. Danny Donald, a media spokesperson for Energex, told 4BC many of those customers in the hardest-hit areas should prepare to be without power for at least a day or two as crews work around the clock to restore power. “Winds are the biggest contributor to outages during the storms,” Donald said, adding there were more than 880,000 lightning strikes last night. “Lightning can cause a few issues. But it’s the debris [that’s a problem] and we’re getting the debris coming in from hundreds of hundreds of metres, from everywhere, flying over the network.” He said crews were able to restore power to 70,000 customers overnight but warned those in some areas, including the Moreton Bay region, that it could be longer before the lights turn back on. Related: Brisbane battered by ‘giant hail’ as severe storms leave thousands in Queensland with power outages “In the worst-affected areas you could be out for a day or two yet,” he said. “It’s a good idea to just be prepared for that. It’s probably worthwhile planning ahead now.” Jonathan How, a forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), said parts of the state – including the Brisbane suburbs of Manly, Ferny Hills and Alexandra Hills – saw hail that was 11 to 12cm in diameter. Brisbane airport recorded wind gusts of 107km/h. The wild weather was forecast to continue in Queensland on Tuesday. “We are expecting thunderstorms across large parts of eastern Australia today. The focus will really be across New South Wales and Queensland,” How said in a media briefing. Those storms could affect the Gold Coast scenic rim region, up towards Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Wide Bay area, bringing with them heavy rainfall, large hail and the possibility of flash flooding. The state is also in for a hot week, with parts of the east coast expected to see temperatures 10C above average. Those hot days will lead to warm nights, which How said will likely continue all the way to the weekend. “We’re reminding Queenslanders to stay cool with the heat,” he said. Twelve state schools were closed on Tuesday due to thunderstorm damage, mostly along the Moreton Bay coastline but including the Sunshine Coast, its hinterland and in the Ipswich area. The list of affected public schools: Banksia Beach State School Beachmere State School Bribie Island State High School Bribie Island State School Churchill State School Coolum State School Dakabin State School Darling Point Special School Griffin State School Mount Kilcoy State School Walloon State School Woody Point Special School