Severe weather in Australia kills at least eight people | Abroad

The heavy thunderstorms on December 25 and 26 were accompanied by large hailstones, strong winds and torrential rain. Rivers flooded and strong winds blew away roofs and toppled trees. Around Christmas, rain caused flooding in metropolitan Sydney, leaving streets and buildings flooded.

Tens of thousands of households in the northeastern state of Queensland were temporarily without power. It will take days to fully restore the power supply. Several thirty-meter-high concrete poles were broken in half by the wind, the local energy company said. “We have never seen that before,” said a spokesperson.

A 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree on the eastern Gold Coast, south of Brisbane in the state of Queensland. A man was fatally injured by a falling branch in the town of Caringal, east of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.

Furthermore, a boat with eleven occupants capsized off the coast of Brisbane. Three men drowned, the eight others were rescued. Three women were swept into a storm drain in Gympie, also in Queensland. One woman survived the incident and another was killed. The third woman has not yet been found.

In contrast to the heavy rainfall, western Australia is plagued by drought and forest fires. A firefighter has died during an operation near Perth. The young man fell from a fire truck on Tuesday due to an unknown cause. Several fires are raging in the state of Western Australia, of which Perth is the capital. There is an unusual heat wave for this time of year.