Queensland Storms Cut Power to 230,000 Homes

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- More than 230,000 homes and businesses in the southeast of Australia's Queensland state lost power after high winds, lightning strikes and driving rain cut supplies, the region's electricity distributor said.

The storms were the most damaging in about a quarter of a century, state-owned Energex said today in a statement on its Web site. By 10:30 a.m., power had been restored to about 175,000 customers and crews are working to reconnect the rest, it said.

The northwestern suburbs of the state capital of Brisbane were worst affected by yesterday's storms, which killed one person. Uprooted trees and falling branches ripped more than 33 kilometers (21 miles) of power lines from poles and roofing iron torn from homes was thrown into the 33,000 volt network.

``Given the extent of trees brought down, roads closed and damage to the electricity network, some power may not be restored until Tuesday,'' Energex said. The company had earlier said it expected to reconnect all customers this afternoon.

Power cuts occurred from the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane, to Gympie, about 160 kilometers (104 miles) to the north, and to Ipswich in the west, Energex said. --- (read more) ---


Hailstorm in Queensland again! Savage hailstorm sweeps over Gold Coast. This remind me the first time we saw hailstorm in Toowoomba. University and the houses nearby suddenly blackout. There are a lot of damaged for houses and cars in Gold Coast. However, luckily not that serious in Toowoomba. The size of hailstrom is smaller. It is shocked to heard news this evening, saying that queensland storms cut power to many homes. The worst thing is, there is a 20 years old man was swept away in a storm water drain.

Photo shows Hailstorm in Ipswich, Queensland on October.: http://mychiaroscuro.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1045