 Map of south-east Queensland | |
| Fatalities | 2 [1] |
|---|---|
| Damage | Insured: A$95 million Total: about A$500 million1 1. as of 21 November 2008 |
The 2008 Queensland storms were a series of three thunderstorms that struck South East Queensland, Australia. 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.
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]
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.
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.
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]
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining rolling stock and approximately 6,600 kilometres (4,101 mi) of track and related infrastructure.
Oxley is a south-western suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Oxley had a population of 8,336 people.
The Gap is a north-western suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, The Gap had a population of 17,318 people.
In January 1974 a flood occurred in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia after three weeks of continual rain. The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of the city, broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas. The cyclone that produced the flood also flooded surrounding cities: Ipswich, Beenleigh, and the Gold Coast.
The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultivated area grows the most diverse range of commercial fruit and vegetables of any area in Australia. The valley is referred to as "Australia's Salad Bowl" to describe the area as one of Australia's premium food bowls.
Severe storms in Australia refers to the storms, including cyclones, which have caused severe damage in Australia. For comparison, a comprehensive list of all damaging storms can be found on the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website.
The M5 (Centenary Motorway) is a 43-kilometre (27 mi) motorway in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Australia.
Annastacia Palaszczuk is an Australian politician and solicitor serving as the 39th and current premier of Queensland since February 2015. She has been leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since March 2012 and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland (MLA) for the division of Inala since September 2006. She is the first woman to win the premiership from opposition and preside over a majority female cabinet in Australian history.
Grantham is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2016 census, the locality of Grantham had a population of 634 people.
A series of destructive severe thunderstorms struck southeastern Queensland, Australia, on 29 November 1992. The storms produced strong winds, flash flooding and large hailstones in the region, including the capital city of Brisbane. The storms also spawned two of the most powerful tornadoes recorded in Australia, including the only Australian tornado to be given an official 'F4' classification on the Fujita scale and the last violent tornado in Australia until 21 March 2013.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage to the Great Barrier Reef and coastal Queensland, Australia, in March 2009. The eighth named storm of the 2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Hamish developed out of an area of low pressure on 4 March near the Cape York Peninsula. The storm rapidly developed into a Category 1 cyclone on the Australian intensity scale the next day. On 6 March, an eye developed, and Hamish strengthened into a Category 3 cyclone. Deep convection developed around the eye, fueling further intensification, which allowed the storm to become a Category 5 tropical cyclone late on 7 March. Hamish made its closest approach to land on 8 March, but continued moving southeastward. Eventually, the cyclone weakened and turned back towards the northwest, weakening into a remnant low on 11 March, before finally dissipating on 14 March.
The 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill occurred off the coast of southeast Queensland, Australia on 11 March 2009, when 230 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers containing 620 tonnes of ammonium nitrate spilled into the Coral Sea, north of Moreton Bay during Cyclone Hamish. It happened after unsecured cargo on MV Pacific Adventurer damaged other cargo, causing the spillage. Over the following days, the spill washed ashore along 60 kilometres (37 mi) of coastline encompassing the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Bribie Island and Moreton Island.
The 2009 Australian dust storm, also known as the Eastern Australian dust storm, was a dust storm that swept across the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland from 22 to 24 September 2009. The capital, Canberra, experienced the dust storm on 22 September, and on 23 September the storm reached Sydney and Brisbane. Some of the thousands of tons of dirt and soil lifted in the dust storm were dumped in Sydney Harbour and the Tasman Sea.
A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in November 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at A$1 billion before it was raised to $2.38 billion. The estimated reduction in Australia's GDP is about A$30 billion. As of March 2012, there were 33 deaths attributed to the floods, with a further three people still missing.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia in early 2011, causing major damage to the affected areas. Originating as a tropical low near Fiji on 26 January, the system intensified to tropical cyclone status during the evening of 30 January. Yasi deepened rapidly over the next 24 hours, and was classified as a Category 3 cyclone at about 5 PM AEST on 31 January 2011. Late on 1 February, the cyclone strengthened to a Category 4 system; then, early on 2 February, the cyclone intensified into a Category 5 Severe Tropical Cyclone. The system had a well-defined eye and continued to track west-southwestward, maintaining a central pressure of 930 hPa and a Dvorak intensity of T6.5 into the evening.
Tropical Cyclone Oswald in 2013 was a tropical cyclone that passed over parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia over a number of days, causing widespread impact including severe storms, flooding, and water spouts. Coastal regions of Queensland were the most impacted with Mundubbera, Eidsvold, Gayndah and Bundaberg in the Wide Bay–Burnett hit severely. In many places the rainfall total for January set new records. Across the affected region, damage from severe weather and flooding amounted to at least A$2.4 billion.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Winifred was the worst tropical cyclone to make landfall in northern Queensland and the first since Althea in 1971 to inflict significant damage on the northeastern coast of Australia. The sixth named storm of the 1985–86 Australian region cyclone season, Winifred originated as a tropical low north of Cairns, Queensland on 27 January 1986. Slowly organizing, the system was recognized as a tropical cyclone after gaining tropical characteristics on 30 January, christened with the name Winifred the same day. Meandering southward, the cyclone began to curve southeastward that evening before suddenly turning toward the coast, southwestward, on 31 January, steadily intensifying in that time. By the time it came ashore near Silkwood, Queensland at 0445 UTC on 1 February, it was producing Category 3-force winds on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale and a minimum atmospheric pressure of 957 mbar (28.38 inHg). Weakening as it drifted inland, Winifred persisted as a tropical depression for another five days after landfall before finally dissipating on 5 February.
The 2014 Brisbane hailstorm struck Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia on 27 November 2014. The storm caused severe damage to many buildings and cars in the city. Around 40 people were injured. Wind speeds of 141 km/h (88 mph) were recorded with multiple reports of hail in the city and surrounding areas.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Althea was a powerful tropical cyclone that devastated parts of North Queensland just before Christmas 1971. One of the strongest storms ever to affect the Townsville area, Althea was the fourth system and second severe tropical cyclone of the 1971–72 Australian region cyclone season. After forming near the Solomon Islands on 19 December and heading southwest across the Coral Sea, the storm reached its peak intensity with 10-minute average maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) – Category 3 on the Australian cyclone scale. At 09:00 AEST on Christmas Eve, Althea struck the coast of Queensland near Rollingstone, about 50 km (30 mi) north of Townsville. Although early weather satellites provided only occasional glimpses into the cyclone's formative stages, its landfall was monitored closely by land-based radar that depicted an ongoing eyewall replacement cycle. Althea produced copious rainfall over central and western Queensland as it turned toward the southeast, and on 26 December the cyclone emerged over open waters. After briefly re-intensifying, the system dissipated on 29 December.
The 2022 eastern Australia floods were one of the nation's worst recorded flood disasters with a series of floods that occurred from February to April in South East Queensland, the Wide Bay–Burnett and parts of coastal New South Wales. Brisbane suffered major flooding, along with the cities of Maryborough, Gympie, the Sunshine Coast, Caboolture, Toowoomba, Gatton, Ipswich, Logan City, the Gold Coast, Murwillumbah, Mullumbimby, Grafton, Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore, the Central Coast and parts of Sydney.
Coordinates: 27°26′38″S152°57′11″E / 27.44389°S 152.95306°E
