Another hot and muggy day is on the way for the Gold Coast, with the weather bureau warning conditions are ripe for another round of severe thunderstorms.
It follows another night of storm action across the city, with residents treated to a late-night lightning and thunder show.
Today would mark the third day in a row of severe thunderstorms across the south east, with Monday’s wild weather now declared an “insurance catastrophe” by the insurance council.
It comes after giant hail and destructive winds battered the region, with hailstones as large as 14cm recorded in some parts.
Insurers have already received more than 16,000 claims across more than 140 postcodes for the severe weather event, with more expected to flood in.
“Insurers’ first priority is community safety, and so we strongly encourage all those impacted by these severe storms to ensure they do not undertake any activity themselves that may put their safety at risk,” ICA Deputy CEO Kylie Macfarlane said.
“While it’s too early to estimate the insurance damage bill, we expect to see claims numbers continue to rise over the coming days as power returns to homes.
“Our advice to impacted policyholders is to lodge a claim as soon as you can, even if you don’t yet know the full extent of the damage.
“This event comes off the back of recent widespread rainfall and storm activity across similarly impacted regions, and insurers are focused on processing claims from these events as quickly as possible.
“With more rain predicted over the coming days, we’re also urging residents of Queensland’s southeast corner to remain vigilant and follow the advice of emergency services.”
More than 38,000 homes and businesses across the southeast remain without power this morning, down from the 162,000 properties that were blacked out during the peak of the action.
“The majority of the remaining SEQ customers are expected to be restored to power by 8pm Wednesday, however some areas of severe damage around Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast are likely to be without power into Thursday,” Energex said.
Storms today and tomorrow are expected to be less intense than those we’ve seen over the past few days but are still forecast to be severe with heavy rain, large hail, and damaging winds possible.
The mercury is expected to peak at 32 degrees on the Gold Coast today, before soaring to a warm top of 34C tomorrow.
