Two people have been hospitalised after their vehicles were struck by lightning in two separate incidents in Queensland on Saturday, as severe thunderstorms return to the south-east of the state.
Queensland Ambulance said one man was transported to Caboolture hospital – between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast – in a stable condition after the vehicle he was travelling in was reportedly struck by lightening while on the Bruce highway at about 9.20am.
Later in the morning, another man was transported to Sunshine Coast University hospital with minor injuries but in a stable condition after the excavator he was on was reportedly struck by lighting at a private address at 11.15am.
Meanwhile, hail up to 5cm was spotted at Tara in the Western Downs on Saturday morning, while wind gusts reached 93km/h at Gympie.
The Sunshine Coast was hammered by rain, with Beerburrum recording 110mm in two hours and Landsborough copping 67mm in just 30 minutes.
It came as storm activity knocked out television and radio signals on the Gold Coast. Both 1029 Hot Tomato and Channel Nine Gold Coast shared on their Facebook pages that signals were down.
“Backup generators were powering the transmitter over the last few days following the Christmas Day storm,” 9 News Gold Coast posted.
“You can continue watching Channel 9 via 9 Now, as crews urgently work to get the local broadcast signals back online.”
“The lightning storms this morning have taken out all Gold Coast TV and radio station,” 1029 Hot Tomato shared in their update.
Thousands in the region still remained without power and were waiting for their homes to be repaired, with recovery efforts likely to be put on hold as the latest round of storms battered the state.
Two severe thunderstorm warnings had been issued for the region, including Wide Bay, Burnett, Darling Downs, Granite Belt, Moreton Bay, Somerset, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
Hail had been reported falling in Dalby on the Western Downs, as well as other areas in the south-east.
The bureau predicted that on Saturday severe thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall were likely to hit Woodford, Mount Beerwah, Beachmere and the area west of Toogoolawah, with warnings of flash flooding and damaging winds.
The storms were heading eastwards and were forecast to hit Redcliffe, Caboolture and northern Bribie Island, before hitting Caloundra, Bribie Island and waters off Bribie Island.
Meteorologist Johnathan How said the storms covered a large region and that flood watches were active across the state’s south-east.
“We’re not expecting rivers to be flooding but you could see rapid responses in creeks and drains,” he said.
The conditions will offer little respite to those still struggling with the effects of the storms from Christmas and Boxing Day, with 26,000 Energex electricity customers still waiting for power to be restored.
About 133,000 customers lost power earlier this week after the tornado and storms struck the region.
Those still waiting for power were predominantly in the hardest hit areas of the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan.
An Energex spokesperson said a total rebuild of the power network was needed for those areas after the tornado snapped concrete poles.
Some customers might need to wait another week for power to be restored, he said.
The recovery efforts will be aided by volunteers from SES NSW and Victoria, who will be joining their Queensland counterparts to help those affected by the wild weather.
There were already 180 Queensland SES volunteers working to repair roofs and clear trees, and they will be joined by 48 SES NSW volunteers and 88 Victorian volunteers.
The SES recevied 2,980 requests for help across the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan areas from Christmas Day to 6am (AEDT) Saturday.
The Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service was sending some recovering patients to hotels rather than discharging them to storm-damaged homes without water or power.
The health service said this applied to patients who needed powered medical devices to manage their condition once they had left hospital.
This was an interim solution and was for patients who did not have alternative accommodation such as family and friends, the service said.
The wet weather has not stopped planning for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The Gold Coast council has reassured residents festivities across five locations will go ahead.
Storm-related activity has claimed the lives of seven people in Queensland since Christmas. Five homes were destroyed.
NSW and Victoria were also hit by storms. Three people died on Boxing Day.
In Queensland’s north, residents of Douglas shire were starting to receive water supply again after being without for two days due to ex-cyclone Jasper.
Supply had been returning since Friday evening after landslides blocked creeks flowing to the Mossman water treatment plant.
Water restrictions remain for the area and bottled water continued to be available to residents on Saturday.
