Thousands without power amid heavy rainfall in Australia

Strong winds have hit Australia’s northeast coast, leaving thousands without power, but the area was spared heavy damage as Tropical Cyclone Kirrily weakened into a tropical storm. (Photo/AA Archive)

Strong winds have hit Australia’s northeast coast, leaving thousands without power, but the area was spared heavy damage as Tropical Cyclone Kirrily weakened into a tropical storm.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles told the Australian Broadcasting Corp that 64,000 people were without power on Friday due to the storm.

Wind gusts of up to 170 kilometres an hour battered coastal cities and towns, while fallen trees caused property damage.

Weather officials warned of continuing heavy rain and strong winds.

But the cyclone was downgraded Friday to a tropical storm after making landfall in Queensland state Thursday night. There were no reported deaths or serious injuries.

“It was still a significant weather system and brought significant rain into interior Queensland,” the Bureau of Meteorology wrote on social media on Friday.

A severe weather warning remains for heavy rain with the possibility of damaging winds. Northwest Queensland could get around 200 millimetres of rain over the next few days, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said military personnel were on standby to assist with the cleanup from Kirrily.

Second cyclone

Coastal Queensland is popular with holidaymakers and tourists, but the wild weather caused problems for the Australia Day holiday on Friday as a number of campgrounds were forced to close.

Queensland premier Steven Miles warned that the threat was not over. “We’re not out of the woods, but we will continue to work to be prepared to support Queensland communities,” he said.

It’s the second cyclone in as many months to hit the region, after December saw Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

Jasper was the first tropical cyclone of the Australian season, which spans the southern hemisphere hot months of November to April.

Australia is in the grips of an El Nino weather event, which is typically associated with extreme phenomena such as cyclones, wildfires, droughts and heatwaves.

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Source: TRT