A storm killed nine people on Australia’s east coast, authorities said Wednesday, a region where more than 80,000 homes remain without power.
The deceased victims, including a nine-year-old girl, were in the provinces of Queensland and Victoria, hit since Monday by thunderstorms and violent winds, causing tree falls and flash floods.
A boat with eleven people on board capsized near Brisbane, causing the death of three men by drowning, said police, who found a third lifeless body on Wednesday.
The eight other members of this crew, who were in the middle of a fishing trip, were transported to hospital.
“The last 24 hours have been tragic due to the weather,” Queensland Police Chief Katarina Carroll told reporters.
In Gympie, two women were killed after being sucked into a large stormwater drain, which they were “exploring” with a third woman, who survived, police said.
Regional Queensland remains at risk of “dangerous” thunderstorms, “life-threatening” flooding, “giant” hailstones and “destructive” wind gusts, the Australian Weather Service has warned.
More than 80,000 homes remain without power, said regional electricity supplier Energex, which on Tuesday deplored more than 120,000 customers affected by the outage.
“How bad was the storm?” Strong enough to destroy several concrete poles supporting high voltage lines,” the company described on social media.