STORMS LASH THE SUNSHINE COAST (QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA)

[AussieMark]

Homes still without power after storms

Around 3,000 homes are still without power north-west of Brisbane as emergency crews struggle to repair damage caused by wild storms.

A spokeswoman for power distributor Energex said most blackouts were in the Mt Glorious, Mt Nebo and Samford areas and in another pocket around Dayboro, Cashmere and Albany Creek.

Uprooted trees brought down powerlines, homes lost roofs and windows were shattered as the thunderstorms swept into south-east Queensland early Sunday afternoon, leaving around 35,000 homes without power at the height of the storm.

High winds, hail and torrential rain also brought the Indy Car Race to a halt only 14 laps into the race.

It eventually resumed when the skies cleared less than an hour later.

Hail the size of golf balls pounded homes on the Gold Coast. Hailstones reportedly killed wildlife, including kangaroos, wallabies and pelicans, at Currumbin Sanctuary.

State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers on the Gold Coast were calling in other crews from south-east Queensland and northern NSW to help put tarpaulins on roofs and aid in the clean-up.

Further inland, fruit crops were destroyed and a house was destroyed and trees ripped from the ground in Stanthorpe, south of Brisbane.

The old Queenslander-style house was moved off its foundations and dumped metres away but the woman inside it was unhurt.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the storms built up in a bank from Ballina to North Queensland just after midday and moved towards the sea at 15 kph.

Queensland's south-east corner was expecting a cooler south-easterly wind change but thunderstorms would begin building again by Tuesday.

[TexasStooge]

OW! That's one powerful storm! Hope you didn't get slammed.