Australia, April 2 – Gale-force winds have caused power outages in Brisbane’s southern and western suburbs this morning. The winds are a result of strong surface trough moving north coming from NWS. Moving at 80 kilometres an hour, it has already brought down power lines in Algester, Calamvale and Sunnybank.

So far, it has caused blackouts in 5,404 homes and businesses. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a strong wind warning for the south east this morning. Energex crews are preparing for the worst. They have already restored power to 3,400 homes.

“Our crews are going to be busy all day, because there’s no sign that this wind is going to let up,” said a spokesman from Energex. “We lost power on Mt Tamborine early this morning, and as soon as we got that up, we have blackouts in Ipswich and the south.”

People are advised to steer clear of roads that have fallen tree branches cutting down powerlines.

According to forecaster Brett Harrison, Brisdane’s CBD will be battered by wind gusts reaching 60 kilometres an hour. The exposed coastal areas will experience wind speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour. While the trough has weakened since coming from NSW, the heavy rains is expected to continue. Since midnight, an average of 15 millimiters of rain fell across the state’s south-east corner. Rochedale South and Slacks Creek had 13 millimeters of rain while Eight Mile Plains has had 11 millimetres. Forecast for Brisbane is up to 40 millimetres across the region.

Source:
brisbanetimes