Severe weather hits Brisbane and Sydney

Severe weather has battered parts of eastern Australia.

The weather system pushed across southern parts of Queensland, intensifying as it did so.

Southeastern parts of the state were the worst hit. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 382mm of rain was reported at Upper Springbrook on the Gold Coast and 357mm was reported at Mount Tamborine.

This vast amount of rain caused major flooding. Numerous roads were inundated and became impassable, including the major Bruce Highway.

As the rain strengthened, the winds also picked up. Thousands of homes suffered power cuts, the majority of which were on the Gold Coast. The strongest gust was nearly 100 kilometres per hour at Cape Moreton.

As the system pushed southwards into New South Wales, it continued to produce severe weather.

A gust of wind of 117kph was reported in Sydney Harbour, and across Sydney the winds were intense. More than 100 power lines were ripped down, the roof was torn off an apartment block and numerous trees were also brought down.

The system is expected to become even more dangerous over the coming hours, as an area of low pressure develops off the coast of New South Wales.

The winds will intensify and the wave heights are expected to reach up to eight metres in some areas.

Much of the coastline of New South Wales and areas near the coast can expect up to 300mm of rain by the end of the weekend.

The flooding is expected to be exacerbated by the high tide which is affecting the east coast. This is one of the highest tides of the year, and will effectively try to block the floodwater’s escape to the sea and prolong the flooding.

Victoria and Tasmania are also seeing torrential downpours, and are bracing for conditions to worsen as the system slowly creeps southwards.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
5/6/16