Thunderstorms in Australia raise risk of flash flooding

SYDNEY – Parts of Australia’s east face severe thunderstorms for the second straight day on Dec 31, the weather bureau warned, with heavy rain raising the risk of dangerous flash flooding.

In the last 24 hours, a wild weather system across the south-eastern regions of Queensland and northern New South Wales has produced torrential rain, hailstones as big as 5cm, and wind gusts close to 100kmh.

The rural town of Beerburrum in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast region picked up 127mm of rain, roughly a month’s average.

“Yet another day of severe thunderstorms is on the way... with the storm risk becoming more extensive throughout the first week of 2024,” Bureau of Meteorology’s forecaster Miriam Bradbury said in a video message on social media platform X.

Some parts of Queensland will get “intense rainfall which will lead to flash flooding”, she added.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the government will deploy up to 70 military veterans and retired emergency service workers across south-east Queensland to assist with the cleanup efforts from recent storms.

The latest storms follow severe weather on Dec 25 and 26

that killed 10 people and knocked out power

for tens of thousands of properties across the east, and after Cyclone Jasper earlier in December caused widespread flooding and damage.

Climate change has amplified Australia’s weather extremes in recent years, experts say. The El Nino weather phenomenon, which can provoke wildfires, cyclones and prolonged drought, is also affecting the country during its current summer period.

Even as the authorities prepare for thunderstorms in some parts, towns in Queensland’s outback are sweltering, with

a heatwave across swathes of Australia’s north.

Temperatures in one such town, Julia Creek, could touch 45 deg C on Dec 31, according to forecasts.

But the weather in the country’s south-east is expected to be mild. Sydney is set for its iconic New Year’s Eve fireworks display, with the authorities expecting one million people around the foreshore to watch the traditional 12-minute pyrotechnic display. REUTERS