Hailstorm batters Gold Coast

[AussieMark]

Hailstorm batters Gold Coast

A FEROCIOUS hailstorm battered the Gold Coast yesterday, causing widespread damage.

Hailstones, some larger than cricket balls, ripped through the city's northern suburbs of Pacific Pines, Oxenford and Helensvale. The storms came after a week of high temperatures and bushfires across the southeast. Some local schools went into lockdown to ensure the safety of students.

Hundreds of tourists and other visitors at Wet 'N' Wild Water World and Warner Bros Movie World ran for cover as the storm hit shortly after 2pm.

"It was frightening for the adults, never mind the kids," said Larry Chiera, 44, of Adelaide, who spent the day at Movie World with his wife and two children.

The car parks of both theme parks were filled with dozens of dented vehicles with smashed windscreens.

Three people hit by hailstones inside the theme parks were treated for minor cuts and abrasions.
A spokeswoman for Wet 'N' Wild said the park was closed for just over an hour after the storm to inspect its slides for damage. The only damage sustained was to shadecloth. Rides at Movie World were shut down but reopened shortly after the storm.

Nearby on the Pacific Motorway at Oxenford, northbound traffic was banked up, causing massive delays, after two accidents involv ing eight vehicles occur red 100m apart as the storm hit. Five vehicles were involved in one and two cars and a school bus in the other.

A police spokeswoman said minor whiplash injuries were reported by some of the vehicle occupants but no children were hurt.

The State Emergency Service said last night 110 volunteers were attending to almost 500 damaged homes.

"She was pretty vicious," said SES Gold Coast controller Peter Linnell. "There's a lot of smashed windows and skylights, cracked tiles and holes in roofs."

At the Helensvale Bowls Club, players were caught unawares when the flurry of heavy hailstones struck, leaving the greens icy white.

While the Gold Coast copped the brunt of the fury, the belt of storms also delivered rain, wind and hail to patches stretching from the border to north of the Sunshine Coast.

Weather bureau forecaster Tony Wedd said the storms developed over Rathdowney southwest of Brisbane during the morning and swept northeast in the early afternoon.

October traditionally has unsettled but mostly dry weather.

Brisbane and surrounding regions are forecast to receive more storms this afternoon. Hail is not forecast.