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Emergency services were cleaning up the aftermath of a wild storm which lashed the Canberra region on Monday afternoon. Trees and powerlines came down and residents reported rain falling “sideways” as a deluge hit the ACT. The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled an earlier severe storm warning but said the situation would continue to be closely monitored. The downpour hit the city about 1pm with emergency services called to incidents right across Canberra. The burst of storm activity brought trees and power lines down and left roofs leaking. A power line fell onto Flinders Way near Canberra Grammar School at 1pm. An ESA spokesperson said they were unsure of the exact cause of the incident. Emergency services attended the scene and families were asked to avoid the street between Monaro Crescent and Mugga Way. The school was affected by power issues in Canberra’s south due to storm damage. Earlier, more than 1300 households were without power across Forrest, Griffith, Red Hill, Symonston, Kambah and Mawson, after a tree fell onto power lines at Kambah, and infrastructure was damaged at Red Hill. An Evo Energy spokeswoman said crews were on the scene and assessing the damage. Across the border, Queanbeyan SES unit responded to almost 20 calls for help since the rain band pushed across the region, bringing trees and powerlines down with it. SES Queanbeyan operations officer Brent Hunter said volunteers from nearby units at Braidwood and Sutton would be sent to help clean up in the aftermath. Several large trees fell during the downpour, damaging roofs and fences. One took out the Hungry Jack’s drive-thru. “It was a whopper of a storm,” Mr Hunter said. He said it looked to be a calm afternoon ahead as crews worked to clean up the debris as quickly as possible. Although hail had been predicted for the ACT none had been reported on Monday afternoon, a welcome relief for Canberrans following January’s hailstorm. A thunderstorm asthma warning had earlier also been issued by ACT health authorities, as pollen levels were expected to remain high throughout the week. After recent heavy rain, the ACT and Queanbeyan dams were nearly at 100 per cent capacity. An Icon Water spokeswoman said Corin Dam was expected to spill in the next few days based on the rainfall at the weekend and on Monday. Bendora Dam and Cotter Dam were already at capacity. Googong Dam, which was 99.41 per cent full on Saturday, was not expected to reach 100 per cent this week as water consumption was set to outstrip rainfall.
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Emergency services were cleaning up the aftermath of a wild storm which lashed the Canberra region on Monday afternoon.
Trees and powerlines came down and residents reported rain falling “sideways” as a deluge hit the ACT.
The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled an earlier severe storm warning but said the situation would continue to be closely monitored.
The downpour hit the city about 1pm with emergency services called to incidents right across Canberra.
The burst of storm activity brought trees and power lines down and left roofs leaking.
Several trees fell into homes and backyards in the wake of the storm. Picture: SES Queanbeyan
A power line fell onto Flinders Way near Canberra Grammar School at 1pm.
An ESA spokesperson said they were unsure of the exact cause of the incident.
Emergency services attended the scene and families were asked to avoid the street between Monaro Crescent and Mugga Way.
The school was affected by power issues in Canberra’s south due to storm damage.
Earlier, more than 1300 households were without power across Forrest, Griffith, Red Hill, Symonston, Kambah and Mawson, after a tree fell onto power lines at Kambah, and infrastructure was damaged at Red Hill.
An Evo Energy spokeswoman said crews were on the scene and assessing the damage.
Across the border, Queanbeyan SES unit responded to almost 20 calls for help since the rain band pushed across the region, bringing trees and powerlines down with it.
SES Queanbeyan operations officer Brent Hunter said volunteers from nearby units at Braidwood and Sutton would be sent to help clean up in the aftermath.
A tree fell onto the drive through at Hungry Jacks Queanbeyan causing some damage. Picture: SES Queanbeyan.
Several large trees fell during the downpour, damaging roofs and fences. One took out the Hungry Jack’s drive-thru.
“It was a whopper of a storm,” Mr Hunter said.
He said it looked to be a calm afternoon ahead as crews worked to clean up the debris as quickly as possible.
Although hail had been predicted for the ACT none had been reported on Monday afternoon, a welcome relief for Canberrans following January’s hailstorm.
After recent heavy rain, the ACT and Queanbeyan dams were nearly at 100 per cent capacity.
An Icon Water spokeswoman said Corin Dam was expected to spill in the next few days based on the rainfall at the weekend and on Monday.
Bendora Dam and Cotter Dam were already at capacity. Googong Dam, which was 99.41 per cent full on Saturday, was not expected to reach 100 per cent this week as water consumption was set to outstrip rainfall.
