At least nine people have died as storms batter Australia’s eastern states of Queensland and Victoria, say officials.
Three men died as a boat capsized in rough conditions on Tuesday, police said. Ambulances took eight other people to hospital following the incident.
A 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in the Queensland city of Gold Coast on Monday. While the body of a nine-year-old girl was found on Tuesday in the neighbouring city of Brisbane.
She had disappeared hours earlier in a flooded stormwater drain. The bodies of a 40-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman were found in the Mary River in the Queensland town of Gympie.
The women were swept into the flooded river. A third woman, aged 46, was able to save herself.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll blamed “extraordinarily difficult weather” for the tragedies.
She said: “It has been a very tragic 24 hours due to the weather.”
Southeastern Australia has been battered by severe weather since Monday. This includes the states of Queensland and Victoria.
A woman, who is yet to be identified, was found dead late Tuesday after flash flooding receded at a camp ground at Buchan in regional Victoria. While a 44-year-old man was killed by a falling branch in Caringal, Victoria.
Thunderstorms and strong winds have brought down more than 1,000 power lines in parts of Queensland and left 85,000 people without electricity.
