(Bloomberg) -- Wild weather across Australia’s southeast has killed at least one woman, while the strong winds also left thousands without power and caused flight cancellations.
Gusts topped 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour in many areas of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales over the weekend and into Monday, according to Jonathan How, a forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology. The highest winds reached 187 kph overnight in Matsuka Island off the coast of Tasmania, he said.
The winds have felled trees, caused extensive damage and closed many road and railways in Victoria and Tasmania, How said.
By Monday afternoon local time the Bureau had issued marine wind warnings for every state, as well as flood warnings for parts of New South Wales and Tasmania. It also issued an extreme fire danger warning for some areas south of Sydney.
One woman in southern New South Wales died after a tree fell on a cabin overnight, while her husband has been taken to hospital for further treatment.
More than 75,000 customers were impacted by power outages as of 3 p.m. local time, according to AusNet, one of the worst affected grids that covers much of eastern Victoria. That was down from 112,000 earlier Monday.
Telstra Group Ltd., the country’s biggest telecommunications company, said some phone services were also impacted by the power outages. Meanwhile, dozens of domestic flights from Sydney and Melbourne airport were canceled on Monday.
The winds are expected to begin easing in western Victoria on Monday afternoon, and elsewhere across the country overnight, How said.
--With assistance from Rob Verdonck.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
