Australia: 8 killed, 1 missing in severe storm off south-east coast
Sydney: At least eight people have lost their lives, while one is still missing due to a severe storm that hit the country’s southeast coast during Christmas and Boxing Day in Australia.
The death toll rose to six after a massive search and rescue operation concluded on Wednesday in the Moreton Bay area in Queensland, Xinhua news agency reported.
“At 5:30 pm. Yesterday afternoon, Boxing Day, a major storm struck Moreton Bay near Green Island, just off Wellington Point. “The 39-foot motorized yacht capsized during a storm,” Acting Chief Superintendent Andrew Pilotto of the State Police said in an update on the “terrible” and “tragic” boating incident.
Eleven adult men, he said, were on the ship for an annual fishing trip.
Eight of them were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. In the last 18 hours, three people have been recovered dead from the water after the incident.
He also said the wind gusted to more than 100 km per hour, which was “catastrophic for Moreton Bay”.
In a separate press conference, Queensland Police Commissioner Katrina Carroll released information about another incident in the river area of Gympie, where three women were swept away by flood waters.
He confirmed that one has survived, while one was found dead and one is still missing.
“In addition, a nine-year-old girl has also been reported missing in the Rochdale South area and was also found dead overnight,” Carroll said.
A 50-year-old woman died after a tree fell on the Gold Coast on Monday.
In the state of Victoria, severe storm and flood warnings were issued over the holiday period, with two deaths already reported.
Emergency services were called to Caves Road, Buchan just after 5:00pm. local time on Tuesday following reports of flash flooding. After the flood waters receded, the search operation started and the police found a woman dead at the spot.
On Tuesday morning, a tree branch fell on a private property on Rusk Road, Caringal, killing a 44-year-old man at the scene.
Despite signs of winds, hail and rain having subsided, several flood warnings are still in place for parts of Queensland and Victoria.
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, some areas need to be wary of potentially severe storms on Wednesday, primarily around the border between Victoria and New South Wales, as well as central and northern parts of the Queensland coast.
“By Wednesday afternoon, we will begin to see the end of this storm surge,” said Angus Hines, the bureau’s senior meteorologist.
