2008 Queensland storms

The 2008 Queensland storms were a series of three thunderstorms that struck South East Queensland. The first storm hit on 16 November 2008 and was followed by two further storms on 19 and 20 November. The storms resulted in 2 fatalities.

2008 Queensland storms
Map of south-east Queensland
DamageInsured: A$95 million
Total: about A$500 million1
1. as of 21 November 2008
Casualties2 [1]

Background

First incident

Winds reached 130 kilometres (81 mi)/h,[2] equivalent to a Category 3 cyclone. Electricity was cut to about 230,000 homes and about 4,000 homes were left in need of serious repair, and at least 30 houses were beyond repair. Some of the worst hit areas included The Gap, Kenmore, Arana Hills and Albany Creek. Forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology rated the storm the worst to hit south-east Queensland since 2004 & The Biggest to The South east Queensland region since 1985.[3]

Second incident

Torrential rain affected areas of Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba, with rainfall reaching more than 250 mm in some locations. The Ipswich and Marburg areas were the worst affected, whilst four homes in inner-city Paddington were unroofed. The Inner City Bypass was flooded and forced to close, as was the Moggill Ferry.

Third incident

Blackwater, near Emerald in Central Queensland, was hit hard by the third storm, with 20 houses sustaining roof damage and up to 100 more were damaged in some way. Gregory MP Vaughan Johnson said the storm was terrifying. He said he was driving to an appointment when the storm slammed into Blackwater, forcing him to turn back to Emerald. Hail was described as the size of golf balls and witnesses saw a lot of damage.

Relief effort

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd inspected The Gap, a badly hit suburb in north-western Brisbane, with Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman on 18 November, likening it to a "war zone".[4] He announced that Centrelink would make payments of $1000 per adult and $400 per dependent child in cases where they were seriously injured or their houses were destroyed. Bligh launched a Disaster Relief Appeal with $500,000 to supplement other government support packages.[5]

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See also

References
  1. "Raging storms claim second victim". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 November 2008.
  2. "Brisbane in chaos after wild storm". The Age. Melbourne. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  3. Williams, Brian; Ironside, Robyn (17 November 2008). "Weather bureau rates storm worst since 2004". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  4. "Rudd inspects storm 'war zone'". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  5. Elks, Sarah; Libby Davis (18 November 2008). "Disaster appeal to boost payments to storm victims". The Australian. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2008.

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