At least eight killed after severe storms batter eastern Australia

At least eight people have been killed with one still missing after severe storms battered Australia’s eastern states over the Christmas holidays, bringing down trees and power lines and leaving tens of thousands of households without power.

Police and rescue services in the states of Victoria and Queensland confirmed the deaths of eight people, the youngest a nine-year-old girl who was reportedly swept away in a flooded storm drain on the outskirts of Brisbane, Queensland’s capital.

In Gympie, three women were swept into a storm drain when floodwaters surged through the rural town.

One of the women survived, a 40-year-old woman died and emergency services said there were now “grave concerns” for the other woman.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Kevin Walsh says rescue teams will continue scouring the area today.

Severe thunderstorms hit the country’s eastern coast on Monday and yesterday, bringing large hailstones, high winds and torrential rain. Rivers flooded, and high winds blew off roofs, and brought down trees in some of the worst-affected areas.

Eleven people were tossed into the ocean when their boat capsized at sea off Brisbane. Police said that three people had drowned, while eight were rescued from the water and rushed to hospital.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that coastal regions in Queensland were still at risk of “dangerous” storms as well as “life-threatening” floods, “giant” hail and “damaging” winds.

Queensland’s power company, Energex, says the storm brought down more than 1,000 power lines and about 86,000 households remained without electricity.

Australia is currently in an El Nino, which can cause extremes ranging from wildfires to tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts.

Aljazeera