Man killed by tree branch in Victoria
A man has died after a tree branch fell on him in Victoria this morning.
According to Victorian police, the tree branch fell at a private property in Caringal just after 9am today.
Emergency services provided medical assistance but the man died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
This comes after a woman died in Helensvale on the Gold Coast last night after being hit by a falling tree.
Key events
The NSW SES has provided an update to the rescue and repair efforts after last nights storm, with 25 flood rescues enacted, mostly in eastern Sydney, and on the south coast.
Sean Kearns, NSW SES assistant commissioner told reporters there were over 500 volunteers helping with rescue efforts on Christmas.
On Christmas Eve we saw the worst of the flood flash flooding where we did over 25 flood rescues the majority of those in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
Yesterday we saw some flash flooding around the South Coast and Illawarra areas where we attended the six flood rescues and in the early evening, SES volunteers attended a caravan park in Kiama to assist the family which whose our caravan had been impacted by flash flooding with water up to their knees.
We saw a severe thunderstorm with large hail hit the regional community of Greenfeld where we saw over 50 calls for assistance due to the damage that the hail cause it caused damage to roofs, skylights, Windows and cars.
Storm expected to hit start of Sydney to Hobart
As we reported just earlier, a severe thunderstorm system detected near Gosford is moving towards Sydney, forecast to reach the city and the Sydney Harbour Bridge by 1pm this afternoon.
Competitors in this year’s Sydney to Hobart race are due to depart from the harbour at 1pm. You can read more on this below:
Concrete power poles damaged for first time in Queensland ‘mini cyclone’
Deputy premier Cameron Dick said that last night’s storm “can only be described as a mini cyclone”.
Dick, who is a Logan local, urged the community to stay safe, calm and patient as emergency crews work to repair damage to homes and energy infrastructure. More than 126,000 customers are without power, according to Energex.
Dick said:
Our crews are working overtime, as hard as they can, to get power connected. It is going to take some time, as you’ve heard from the premier.
This has been unprecedented in some ways, with power poles being torn out of the ground and a concrete power pole damaged for the first time ever by a storm. That just gives you an insight to this severity and the destructive nature of the storm.
Concrete power lines destroyed
Queensland premier Steven Miles is speaking to the media after last night’s disastrous storms affecting south-eastern parts of the state.
To give a sense of how unprecedented the storms were, Miles said this is the first time emergency services had seen concrete power poles taken down by a storm:
This is the first time we have seen a storm so intense in the south-east that it has taken down concrete power poles.
It will take days to get all of them repaired. I spoken to the mayors of Logan and Gold Coast, they have the situation in hand through their local disaster management groups.
He thanked emergency crews who responded to emergency callouts through the night. Miles said there had been 180 triple zero calls overnight and 450 requests for SES assistance.
Severe thunderstorms moving towards Sydney
Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter.
The Bureau of Meteorology said at 12.30pm, severe thunderstorms likely to produce damaging winds and large hail were detected near the Dungog district, the Gresford district and Lakemba.
The thunderstorms were moving south, forecast to affect Sydney city and Wyong by 1pm and Gosford, Morpeth and Tocal by 1.30pm.
A low pressure system is situated in the state’s south-west. A humid and “very unstable” airmass along and to the east of the trough, supported by strong upper winds, will cause the development of severe thunderstorms this afternoon.
Q: A few months ago we were told that we’re now in an El Nino phase, characterised by drought conditions, so why are we seeing so much severe wet weather right now?
Angus Hines explained that we are still in an El Nino, and its impacts are seen when you look at weather patterns over the course of months and seasons as a whole.
When you look over the course of a six month span during El Nino you will see large parts of the country that get drier than average weather, but that doesn’t mean that every day, every week, or even every month is dry.
It is not uncommon in an El Nino year to still get a wet week or a wet month. We have certainly had frequent stormy outbreaks throughout the last month, since towards the end of November right through until Christmas. That has given some parts of the country above average rainfall over the last month…
When we look back over the past six months we will see many places drier than normal, including the driest three-month period ever across Australia through earlier months of the year. A little bit of rain over the course of a week or a month through El Nino [is] not uncommon, though we do expect to see overall drier conditions.
More storms possible
Angus Hines flagged that a number of severe thunderstorms, plus heavy rain, were lashing Gippsland and eastern Victoria:
Just in the last hour or two a band of severe thunderstorms [were] developing around the central parts of Victoria.
There’s a few isolated storms further north but in general it’s been a more settled morning.
The risk is certainly there for more storms, more severe storms, to develop across eastern and south-eastern Queensland, as well as eastern New South Wales – could see some more severe storms today.
What’s causing the storms?
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology just spoke to ABC News about the severe thunderstorms hitting the east coast.
He explained the weather pattern behind them:
[It is] primarily driven by some warm humid air in the low levels of the atmosphere, which is partly contributed to by a ton of warm ocean temperatures off the east coast of Australia providing a lot of that warmth and humidity into the atmosphere.
We also have a big low pressure system higher up which just provides that extra energy and support which allows these thunderstorms do develop and grow, and as you say, they have been causing extensive disruptive weather over the last few days.
While the bureau is still crunching the numbers, Hines said it was likely parts of Victoria, NSW and Queensland will have all recorded their wettest Christmas on record.
Man killed by tree branch in Victoria
A man has died after a tree branch fell on him in Victoria this morning.
According to Victorian police, the tree branch fell at a private property in Caringal just after 9am today.
Emergency services provided medical assistance but the man died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
This comes after a woman died in Helensvale on the Gold Coast last night after being hit by a falling tree.
Power outage breakdown
The number of customers in south-east Queensland without power has now surpassed 126,000, according to energy provider Energex.
Some of the most impacted areas as 10.45am local time at include:
Threat of ‘very dangerous’ thunderstorms again today
Looking at the weather more broadly across Queensland today, the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts, large hail and heavy rainfall in the eastern districts.
It warns that isolated, “very dangerous” severe thunderstorms are possible again today.
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines told me earlier that severe thunderstorms were likely for “pretty large swathes” of the country today, from central Queensland down to Melbourne:
Many spots will probably have a bit of a bright start to the day, with sunshine and some fairly pleasant weather, but the risk of further severe thunderstorms developing through this afternoon into the evening is definitely there.
It does include those places that were hit pretty hard yesterday around south-east Queensland, there’s a chance there’ll be more severe thunderstorms in that part of the country later on today.
⛈️Today’s forecast: severe thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts, large hail, heavy rainfall are likely in eastern districts south of Clermont, possible south of Ingham. Isolated very dangerous severe thunderstorms possible again. Warnings: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/12UCLwZTDG
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 26, 2023
Logan River floods
A major flood warning is in place for Logan in Queensland, while major flooding is occurring at Beaudesert.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the major flooding extends along the Logan River to Yarrahappini. The Logan River at Beaudesert was at 8.32m and rising this morning, due to reach 8.7m.
Downstream of Yarrahappini minor flooding was occurring at Maclean Bridge, at 4.09m and rising. BoM said it may rise and exceed the minor flood level of 10m overnight into tomorrow, with further rises possible.
⚠️ A Major Flood Warning has been issued for Logan River. Major flooding is occurring at Beaudesert during Tuesday morning, where the river may reach 8.70 metres. Minor flooding possible at Maclean Bridge overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Details: https://t.co/K7UzHdwr1T pic.twitter.com/ff8wPFZqtl
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 25, 2023
Thunderstorm warning for Gippsland
Earlier, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Gippsland in Victoria, with BoM warning heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding over the next several hours, affecting locations such as Morwell.
75mm of rainfall was recorded at East Sale over just three hours this morning, and 53.2mm at Balook in just two hours.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall.
For people in North Central and parts of Central, Northern Country, North East, West and South Gippsland and South West Forecast Districts.
Issued at 11:33 am Tuesday, 26 December 2023. pic.twitter.com/cArUGxdRiX
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) December 26, 2023
Two people die at Central Coast beaches
The deaths of two people at Central Coast beaches on Christmas Day are being treated as medical episodes rather than drownings, police say.
About 11am yesterday, emergency services were called to Umina beach after a surfer was pulled from the water. Police said surf lifesavers had performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but the man could not be revived and died at the scene.
He has yet to be identified. Officers will prepare a report for the coroner but initial inquiries suggest the man “may have suffered a medical episode”, according to police.
About 6.40pm emergency services were called to Copacabana beach after a swimmer suffered a medical episode in the water.
A surfer took the man, aged in his 70s, to the shore where he was assisted by lifesavers but he could not be revived. Water police will again prepare a report for the coroner.
Power outages across south-east Queensland
As of 10.15am local time, more than 123,000 customers across south-east Queensland were without power after the severe thunderstorms overnight.
In a post to X/Twitter, energy provider Energex said more than 800 power lines were down across the Gold Coast, the Scenic Rim and Logan, with severe damage to the network.
Earlier Danny Donald from Energex said repair work would take “days in some cases”, with old-growth gum trees blocking roads across the network and debris “everywhere”.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, he said crews had been working all night, with fresh crews coming onboard this morning:
It’s really becoming a marathon. This isn’t going to be a sprint, it’s a big job and some places, particularly in the more wooded areas, may be without power for a few days, the way it’s looking.
Severe damage to Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Logan network incl 800+ powerlines down. 120k customers without power & will take days to restore some. Watch for & report fallen powerlines ASAP to 000. When we have restoration timeframes – Outage Finder: https://t.co/l4u7arLkSb pic.twitter.com/95qnqST6uT
— Energex (@Energex) December 25, 2023
Emergency alert for Scenic Rim
An emergency alert has been issued for Queensland’s Scenic Rim region by the local disaster management group, advising people to stay away from fallen power lines and to avoid damaged roads.
People are urged to call triple zero in life-threatening situations, or the SES for disaster assistance.
Between 6.30pm on Christmas night and 4am today, the Queensland SES received nearly 450 calls for help on the Gold Coast, and across Logan and the Scenic Rim.
Good morning
![Emily Wind](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/08/23/Emily_Wind,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=81923e28b0832fbb40212c001c6f3974)
Emily Wind
And happy Boxing Day – welcome back to another day on the Australia news live blog. You’ve got Emily Wind with you and I’ll be bringing you the latest today, mostly related to the east coast storms.
As we’ve been reporting this morning, one woman has died and more than 120,000 customers in south-east Queensland are without power as a result of severe thunderstorms on Christmas night.
Intense storms affected Queensland, NSW and Victoria on Monday, with more than 1,200 calls for help to state emergency services, and Sydney airport recording its wettest Christmas Day on record.
I spoke to senior meteorologist Angus Hines from the weather bureau just earlier, who said the weather pattern along the east coast these last few days – where relatively sunny and clear mornings were followed by intense storms in the evening – is likely to repeat today.
He said severe storms were possible for “pretty large swathes of the country”, from central Queensland all the way down to Melbourne on Tuesday.
We will keep you updated with the latest on this, plus any other news this Tuesday.
Let’s get into it.
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