Storm lashes Queensland, thousands without power
Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia’s Queensland state were without power on Sunday after “Alfred,” a downgraded tropical cyclone, brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings.
Some 316,540 people were without power in Queensland’s southeast, where the Gold Coast city was the worst-hit area with more than 112,000 without power due to the storm system, energy distributor Energex said in a statement.
The storm reached the Queensland coast on Saturday as a “tropical low” after 16 days as a cyclone, prompting preparations by millions of residents. The state capital Brisbane was spared the brunt of the storm, which was also felt in southern neighbor New South Wales.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that the “situation in Queensland and northern New South Wales remains very serious due to flash flooding and heavy winds.”
“Heavy rainfall, damaging wind gusts and coastal surf impacts are expected to continue over coming days,” Albanese said in Canberra, in remarks televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
