More than 23,000 homes in Brisbane and Logan were left without power on Tuesday afternoon after a supercell thunderstorm ripped through the south-east Queensland region.
The short-lived but intense system tore roofs off homes and brought down trees and power lines.
The State Emergency Service (SES) was called to 35 jobs in the region and Beenleigh and Gold Coast trains were delayed up to an hour due to debris on the tracks at Woodridge, south of Brisbane.
The suburb was the worst affected, with more than 3,500 homes without power, followed by Rochedale South, Upper Mount Gravatt, Underwood, and Forest Lake.
A severe thunderstorm warning was cancelled at 9:00pm for the Ipswich, Somerset, Brisbane City and Moreton Bay council areas.
Train line cut
At Woodridge, a tree fell on railway overhead powerlines in the severe storm about 3:30pm, with delays for commuters travelling on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines, a Queensland Rail spokesperson said.
"As a result, services are suspended between Kuraby and Ormeau in both directions while buses have been arranged to transport customers between those stations," the spokesperson said.
Queensland Rail said repair teams were working to clear the debris, repair the infrastructure and return rail services as quickly as possible.
High school has 'extensive storm damage'
Woodridge State High School said in a social media post it had "experienced extensive storm damage … including to power and phone lines".
"While we will be operating as normal tomorrow, Wednesday 2 February, open for vulnerable students and students of essential workers, please be aware it will take some time to assess and repair damage," the post said.
"Our thoughts tonight are with our surrounding community, who also received considerable damage."
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the freak storm formed as a result of the scorching temperatures and high humidity in the south-east, as well as a strong sea breeze.
