Brisbane
cleans up after hailstones and high winds smash city in huge storm
Army
called in to help after roofs are ripped off buildings and planes
flipped over in severe thunderstorm
28
November, 2014
A
massive clean-up effort was beginning in Brisbane on Friday after it
was smashed by hailstones the size of golf balls and destructive
gusts up to 140km/h.
Brisbane
bore the brunt of the storm’s ferocity, with the insurance industry
declaring it a catastrophic event that will leave a multimillion
dollar damage bill.
The
severe thunderstorm left a trail of destruction across the central
city on Thursday, smashing highrise windows and ripping roofs off
buildings, and flipping planes at Archerfield Airport.
The
Queensland premier, Campbell Newman, has called in the army to help
with roof repairs and recovery efforts and has called the storm “the
worst since 1985”. Forecasters said it was the worst since at least
the 2008 Gap storm.
Shattered
glass, trees, powerlines and other debris were strewn across roads,
causing traffic chaos and long public transport delays during peak hour.
One
woman was reportedly injured by a falling tree at West End, while
emergency services had responded to more than 1,000 calls for
assistance across the city by late Thursday night.
SES
acting assistant commissioner Peter Jeffrey told the ABC volunteers
worked through the night.
“There’ll
be a bit of a delay before they can help people, and jobs will be
prioritised around those who are the most vulnerable,” he said.
Authorities
worked overnight to try to restore power to the almost 90,000 homes
in the southeast region, mainly in Brisbane, that had their power
cut.
The
ABC reported power was cut to 83,000 customers after the storm struck
during the afternoon peak hour. About 73,000 customers were believed
to be still without power at 12:30am..
Many
schools were severely damaged and were expected to remain closed
until at least Monday.
Newman
said defence personnel had been mobilised on Thursday night and would
assist emergency crews to help with the clean-up from Friday morning
.
“So
we are getting in as many people as we can on the job,” he told the
Seven Network. “We want people to be safe; there are all sorts of
hazards out there.”
Brisbane
residents posted dramatic pictures and videos of the storm on social
media.
5:16 AM - 28 Nov 2014 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The
Insurance Council of Australia said insurers had already received
thousands of calls and that number was expected to rapidly rise on
Friday.
More
violent storms set for south of France
The
south of France is set to be lashed by more extreme weather with some
12 departments placed on alert for floods on Thursday after violent
storms and heavy rain were forecast.
The south of France is set to be hit by more rough weather. Photo:AFP
27
November, 2014
France’s
meteorological service Météo France issued warnings for storms,
rainfall, and floods for a dozen regions in the south of France that
will remain in place until Saturday morning.
The
departments Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne
and Ariège are on alert for strong winds while Aveyron, Ardèche,
Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Tarn and the two Corsican departments face
the risk of flooding due to heavy rainfall. The Var department is
also on alert for potential floods.
Météo
France expects that up to 240 mm of rain will fall in the Languedoc
region, and up to 150 mm over the Cévennes in the Ardèche
department, in just 24 hours.
Météo
France also urges caution in areas where the grounds are already
completely saturated with water due to the recent heavy rainfall.
Winds
may reach up to 110 km/h in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques,
Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne and Ariège departments.
The
warnings are just the latest to be handed out for southern France,
which has been frequently battered by extreme weather throughout the
autumn.
Earlier
this month, heavy storms and rainfalls wreaked havoc in parts of the
region
The
Ardèche department was hit especially hard after river banks burst
and flooded the area and some 6,000 homes were left without power.
Firefighters were called out to deal with almost 100 incidents.
“We
have an enormous amount of damage, with walls collapsing onto roads,”
said deputy mayor of an Ardèche village Michel Aymard at the time.
“We’ve
only just received the financial aid from the government for damage
caused by flooding in 2013,” he said.
Hot
spots in the Pacific
Global
Ocean Anomalies 26/11/2014. Hot Spots are everywhere.
BOM reports
that the Pacific Ocean has shown some renewed signs of El Niño
development in recent week.
Above-average temperatures in the
tropical Pacific Ocean have warmed further in the past fortnight,
while the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) has generally been in
excess of El Niño thresholds for the past three months.
Climate
models suggest current conditions will either persist or strengthen.
These factors mean the Bureau's ENSO Tracker Status has been upgraded
from WATCH to ALERT level, indicating at least a 70% chance of El
Niño occurring.
---Kristy Lewis, via Facebook
Australian
ocean currents
The
East Australian Current is Stretching down Completely past Tasmania.
This Current is Not supposed to be flowing down that far.
It's
bringing Tropical Fish and destroying many ecosystems around
Tasmania.
---Kristy
Lewis, via Facebook
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