Australia (Commonwealth) In the aftermath of severe storms that swept through southeast Queensland, the toll has tragically risen to four lives lost, with an additional two individuals still missing in floodwaters and at sea. Queensland Ambulance Service reported on Wednesday that two casualties were discovered following the capsizing of a boat in Moreton Bay on Tuesday afternoon, which had 11 individuals on board. Eight of the occupants were transported to hospitals in stable condition, while one person remains unaccounted for near Green Island. A comprehensive search and rescue operation, involving water police vessels, police divers, volunteer marine rescue, and coastguard, resumed at first light on Wednesday.
In a somber discovery on Tuesday evening, the lifeless body of a nine-year-old girl was recovered from stormwater drains in Brisbane. Tragically, a fourth fatality, that of a 40-year-old woman, was found in the Mary River in Gympie. The storms had claimed a life on Monday when a 59-year-old woman succumbed to injuries caused by a fallen tree on the Gold Coast.
The Queensland Police expressed that the extensive search for the young girl yielded no indications of suspicious circumstances surrounding her disappearance. The grieving family, hailing from Rochedale South, has requested privacy during this challenging period.
The woman retrieved from the Mary River was one of three individuals swept into the water near the Kidd Bridge. While a 46-year-old woman managed to reach safety, another of the same age remains missing, prompting the resumption of search efforts.
The severe weather that besieged southeast Queensland on Christmas and Boxing Day included wind gusts of 100km/h in Gympie, golf ball-sized hail in Zillmere, and substantial rainfall of 62mm in an hour in Jindalee. The storms left over 120,000 households without power on Christmas Day, with more than 800 powerlines down across the region.
The Bureau of Meteorology warns of the potential for further severe thunderstorms on Wednesday, primarily in central and northern parts of the Queensland coast, extending southward to Brisbane. However, conditions are anticipated to alleviate by Wednesday afternoon. Concurrently, meteorologists caution of a heatwave in the state’s north, with maximum temperatures in the Gulf region expected to reach the low 40s on Wednesday.
