#QLD #Weather #News #CTCorp Brisbane storm: Supercell damage bill could reach $150 million, Campbell Newman says The damage bill from a supercell storm that hit south-east Queensland on Thursday afternoon with cyclonic winds and softball-sized hail could reach $150 million, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says. The storm smashed through the Queensland capital, leaving more than 100,000 properties without power, public transport passengers stranded, roads flooded, homes and cars damaged and trees uprooted. Winds reached in excess of 140kmph and there were 6,000 lightning strikes. The State Emergency Service received more than 1,300 calls for help and 29 people were treated for minor injuries. Already the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has received more than 15,060 claims totalling more than $109.2 million, and declared the storm a catastrophic weather event. Mr Newman said the damage bill could rise to as high as $150 million. There are just so many vehicles that have been impacted, so many homes - whether houses or apartments - and businesses that have been impacted, Mr Newman said. I think itll take some time for the insurance companies to tote up the bill. Mercifully, [we] only had reports of 12 people being injured, he said, adding that he believed the injuries were relatively minor. Im astounded but so grateful that that is all that weve got given the amount of shrapnel flying around last night. Emergency services expect it will take until at least Saturday to clean up the debris left by Thursdays storm, described by the Bureau of Meteorology as the strongest to hit the city in a decade. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting deputy commissioner Neil Gallant said emergency services crews would be out until Saturday cleaning up debris. Tomorrow will be a big day ... lots of volunteers from SES and Rural Fire Service will be out ... I estimate by end of tomorrow a large part of the recovery side will be done, he said. 642 powerlines brought down, 105,000 properties affected Up to 7,993 Brisbane homes spent a second night without power on Friday night. Power to homes at St Lucia, Taringa, Indooroopilly, Acacia Ridge, Archerfield, Willawong, Durack was expected to be back on by noon on Saturday. Energex said approximately 40 crews would work throughout the night restoring power, increasing to 90 crews at first light. The supercell brought down 642 powerlines - leaving 105,000 properties without power. Minister for Energy and Water Supply Mark McArdle said Energex and Ergon crews were working tirelessly to restore power. Energex set themselves a target of restoring power to 50 per cent of affected customers by lunch time Friday - and they have successfully met that mark, Mr McArdle said. Significant damage was suffered in some areas, particularly around Inala, and certain sections of the electricity network will have to be rebuilt, he said. A significant number of large trees will need to be removed from areas such as Taringa, Toowong and St Lucia before power can be restored. ICA general manager Campbell Fuller said the timing of the storm meant there were more vehicles of the road. Hail storms do tend to cause extensive high value damage and the fact that this one took place at peak hour has probably exacerbated that, Mr Fuller said. All claim arising from the hail storms will be given priority ... to reduce heartache and stress on the policy holders. RACQ Insurance has urged motorists to submit their damage claims as soon as possible with vehicles expected to take months to process. The company said they had already received more than 2,000 claims and expected that number to rise in the coming weeks. Chief executive officer Bradley Heath said they were working to speed up the process. The first step is to get the vehicle assessed and booked in for repair and were running bulk assessment processes on Saturday and Sunday and through out next week to get those claims lodged, assessed and scheduled in for repair as quickly as possible, Mr Heath said. I wasnt going to get out of the car Scott McClement had just left his office in Dutton Park to drive home when the storm hit. He said he had no idea the storm was approaching, but within moments he was fearing for his safety as the car was battered by massive chunks of hail. The first indication I had that it was going to be severe was the hail on the car, then I looked around behind me and saw the colour of the sky, he said. I pulled out onto Gladstone Road and as I got out into the traffic and went further up the road rain was coming down in sheets on the windscreen and I couldnt see where I was going so I pulled over. As the heavier hail came in I realised I needed to get off into a side street or find some shelter. But he said the side street offered little reprieve. The rear windscreen had broken, there were multiple dents all over the top of the car, the side rear-vision mirror had been taken out by the hail and the windscreen was cracking as well. But at that point, exiting the car was not an option. I knew I had to stay in the car and I was at one stage huddled down in the front seat hoping that because the hail was coming almost horizontally that if it came in far enough in the car it would hit the back of my seat and not my head, Mr McClement said. I took the car down a driveway and I was able to get out once the car was safe under the building, but I wasnt going to get out of the car in the hail. Power restoration a continuing effort An Energex spokesman said 120 crews were working in dangerous conditions to get the power back on to those . At the height of the storm, more than 90,000 homes across Brisbane were without power, he said. Power would be restored to parts of Inala, Oxley, Corinda and Yeronga on Brisbanes south side by Friday afternoon. But many areas of West End, Toowong, Taringa and Indooroopilly would be without power until Friday night. Almost 200 firefighters were assessing and repairing damage across the city, with another 100 SES volunteers activated. Mr Newman said he hoped 80 per cent of services would be restored by 6:00pm. A number of owing to storm damage. Queenslands Local Government and Recovery Minister David Crisafulli said rail services across Brisbane were largely unscathed, apart from a section of the Ipswich line which was running at half capacity on Friday morning. Mr Crisafulli said bus services were also up and running but the King George Square interchange in the CBD would remain closed until further notice. He said emergency services, the Army and many other agencies had been working through the night. A power of work has been done overnight and it has been across a number of different agencies, Mr Crisafulli said. The biggest progress has been made in terms of clearing the roads and I have got to say what an excellent job to have the Defence force on side. Public transport will be running, there will be disruptions but its going to be a pretty tough job for a lot of people. The Armys Emergency Support Force was out clearing roads and helping with the recovery. About 200 soldiers have been working since dawn to remove fallen trees and other storm debris from Brisbane streets. Captain Bill Heck said ADF personnel had been clearing debris on Brisbanes south side through the suburbs of Fairfield, Yeronga, West End and Archerfield. Weve mainly been involved in root clearance where were clearing the trees and fallen debris off the roads so people can actually get to work, he said. Were trying to return some normalcy to Brisbane so people can go about their normal lives. The Brisbane City Council has announced that free green waste disposal will be available this weekend for storm-affected residents at its council transfer stations. Council will also commence kerbside clean-up of storm affected items, debris and waste from Monday 1 December across about 50 impacted suburbs, a statement said. One of the strongest cells seen in 10 years: BOM Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Sam Campbell said the supercell storm was one of the worst to hit Brisbane in a decade. Yesterday we saw an exceptional thunderstorm over south-eastern Queensland, it produced structured wind gusts, giant hail and heavy rain and it is likely one of the strongest cells we have seen in the Brisbane CBD, we have seen in 10 years, he said. It was one of the highest supercell thunderstorms to occur in Australia, producing 144 kilometre [per hour] wind gusts at Archerfield and we had reports of tennis ball to softball-sized hail. Senior forecaster Peter Otto told 612 ABC Brisbane conditions around Archerfield were equivalent to a category two cyclone and wind gusts likely reached up to 160kph in nearby areas. Resident James Marriott, from Toowong in Brisbanes inner-west, said the storm tore off the roof of his apartment. He said his roommate was in the kitchen at the time and was lucky to be alive. The entire roof has gone off the apartment, Mr Marriott said. We had a part of our roof end up on Coronation Drive. It looked like a bomb had gone off at the end of our home. I cant describe it to you really, its just incredible. John Arthur, from Hawthorne in Brisbanes east, said the storm was so fierce he and his family feared for their lives. We had to run to get out of there, the speed of the hailstones were like bullets, Mr Arthur said. The place looked like a warzone. My daughter was crying, it was like a freight train coming straight at you, just like a roar, it was that loud. The size of the hailstones were decimating everything in its path. Resident describes storms destruction Toowong resident Jennifer Parer had rainwater invade her apartment through light fixtures after wild winds blew the roof off her apartment building. The five-storey Scenic Point building lost its roof in the ferocity of the supercell. Ms Parer, who lives on the fourth floor, said it was a terrifying experience. Most people cant get back into their units... some young boy was there alone and is very traumatised, she said. The water poured down the lift and down the stairs... the emergency stairs was like a waterfall. My bedroom was alright, but some people have had their beds and wardrobes absolutely saturated. I have an elderly neighbour as well ... not sure how well get her down the stairs, shell have to move of course. Im still here and fortunately no one was hurt ... thats the main thing. I think there are a lot of people worse off than I am. Woolloongabba resident Roy Colt also lost the roof over his head. It sounded like a big tree branch or something landing on the roof ... thats why I went outside to have a look and that wasnt what it was. What it was was the roof lifting off, Mr Colt said. Its a wonder someone wasnt killed. Either pedestrian or car if it smashed into a car. Lucky we are. Small planes wrecked at Archerfield Archerfield Airport was hit by the worst of the storm and seven small planes were flipped upside down. Several helicopters were also damaged. A single-engine plane belonging to Spiro Stamatopoulous was torn away from its mooring lines and tossed 200 metres through the air before falling back to earth upside down, snapping the planes tail in the process. Winds peaked at about 140kph here on the airfield - these things only need 60 to 70kph to get actually get flying so there was a good chance that it actually got airborne of its own accord once it got loose from its tetherings, he said. It tried to fly and didnt quite make it. An RACQ Careflight helicopter was also damaged when the storm hit, moments after it landed at Careflights heavy maintenance base at Archerfield. The tail boom has quite a bit of hail damage, the tail rotor blades have both been damaged beyond repair, Careflight engineering manager Darryl Stevens said. We didnt get enough time to get the aircraft back in the hangar, which was a bit lucky because the hangar doors actually flew off our hangar due to the winds and so forth. The pressure built up inside the hangar, basically lifted the roof a little bit and they just blew out. Mr Stevens said it was like watching a cyclone from inside the hangar, and the noise was deafening. But he said all Careflight bases were operating unaffected, with back-up choppers available to fill the void. Source: ABC Saturday November 29, 2014 - 00:06 EDT © ABC 2014 To ensure you are viewing the latest information please visit: abc.net.au/news/2014-11-28/brisbane-storms-68000-residents-still-without-power/5924112
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 22:47:22 +0000