A woman was killed, and power outages affected over 100,000 homes during Christmas night in Northern Australia due to severe thunderstorms. The Queensland Ambulance Service reported that a 59-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her in Gold Coast. Meanwhile, the energy company Energex described the storm’s impact as “catastrophic,” causing extensive damage and power line falls in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, and Gold Coast, located 80 km south.
Over 800 power lines were knocked out of service, leading to power cuts in 120,000 homes. Energex, in a social media post, stated that the repair could take several days due to the widespread and catastrophic damage, likening it to a hurricane. They also mentioned that they were receiving continuous reports of further damage.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicted more severe thunderstorms later on Tuesday, with high winds, large hailstones, and heavy rainfall. Additionally, they warned of a potential flood risk near a river in Gold Coast.
Recent years have seen a significant increase in weather-related disasters worldwide, often resulting in extensive damage and loss of life. In 2020, for instance, the world experienced a record 50 billion-dollar weather disasters. The most expensive disaster that year was the summer monsoon flooding in China, causing $35 billion in damage. Honduras also suffered its costliest disaster in history due to Hurricane Eta, with damages amounting to $6 billion, which was 24% of its GDP at that time. The United States experienced a record 27 billion-dollar weather disasters in the same year, with events like hurricanes, severe storms, and wildfires causing over $95 billion in damages and claiming 262 lives.
In 2021, the trend continued with the total damage from weather disasters reaching $343 billion, marking it as the third-costliest year on record for weather-related disasters. This year featured a record four mega-disasters, each costing over $20 billion. These included Hurricane Ida in the U.S., which was the most expensive weather disaster of the year with $75 billion in damages. Germany and Belgium also recorded their costliest weather-related disasters in history due to the July mega-floods. Overall, approximately 10,500 people died in natural disasters in 2021, with the deadliest being an earthquake in Haiti and monsoon flooding in India.
In 2022, weather-related deaths decreased by 22% from 2018, and injuries decreased by 16%, despite an 11% increase in the number of weather events. Notably, heat, winter weather, floods, and hurricanes were the primary causes of deaths, while winter weather, drought, and tornadoes caused the most injuries.
