The police have confirmed Australia's Christmas storm death toll has risen to six, with three still missing in Queensland.
Tens of thousands of households lost power in Queensland due to the severe thunderstorms, bringing large hailstones, high winds, and torrential rains.
Australia's Christmas Storm
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: Christmas shoppers are seen in the CBD during a rain storm on December 23, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. New South Wales COVID-19 case numbers are on the increase across the state, with health authorities also reporting new cases of the Omicron variant.
Victoria and Queensland Police confirmed six deaths. The three deaths were confirmed in south-east Queensland on Boxing Day, including a nine-year-old girl whose body was found after getting lost in Brisbane's stormwater drains.
The girl's body was found after an extensive search by the police. The girl's family, from Rochedale South, requested privacy at this difficult time.
The second confirmed death followed a boat capsizing south of Green Island in Moreton Bay.
A search-and-rescue operation was launched involving water police vessels, police divers, volunteer marine rescue, and coastguard for the three people reported missing. Eight people were taken to the hospital after the operation.
The search discovered one body, but the other two people had not been accounted for when it was suspended just before midnight. The operation was due to continue at first light on Wednesday.
The third body identified a 40-year-old woman who was found in the Mary River in Gympie. She was one of three swept into the water by the Kidd Bridge, while one 46-year-old woman survived, but another woman remained missing.
On Wednesday, Gympie's mayor, Glen Hartwig, said emergency personnel continued searching for the woman.
"Police divers have been requested to come in and start to look for this other female, and hopefully, an end can be brought to this as soon as possible," he said.
He added that the family needs closure, as it was difficult for them and other friends within the region. He noted that they were a very close community that cared about one another, so losing someone at this time of the year was undoubtedly tragic.
In Victoria, a woman died after a campground in east Gippsland was hit by a heavy rainfall. On Tuesday, emergency workers were called to the Buchan campground after 5 pm.
The police said they were told several vehicles in the campground area were underwater, and several people were safely retrieved from a nearby bridge.
The woman was found dead at about 6:45 pm and was yet to be formally identified.
On Monday, the Christmas storms had already accounted for one death in Queensland. The police claimed a 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree on the Gold Coast and one in Victoria, where a man was killed after a branch fell on his property in Caringal.
A search was continued on Wednesday for a man who was swept out in the sea while rescuing a family member on the New South Wales south coast. Emergency services responded to the reports of a man missing at about 3:30 pm on Boxing Day at Congo Beach, about 40km south of Batemans Bay.
On Tuesday, the third night of the thunderstorms, the emergency services alerted the communities to the possibility of flooding.
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Bureau of Meteorology Warns Australian Residents
Angus Hines of the Bureau of Meteorology reported that conditions would ease by Wednesday afternoon. He said, "By and large, by Wednesday afternoon, we're starting to see the end in sight for this thunderstorm outbreak."
He warned the residents to monitor the severe thunderstorm warnings, which will be issued and updated throughout the day as they monitor and track the development of these powerful and potentially dangerous storms.
Volunteers from the NSW State Emergency Service were kept busy responding to 473 calls for help and conducting six flood rescues on Christmas and Boxing Day.
More than 80 jobs were recorded on Boxing Day after 4cm hail caused havoc near Maitland in the Hunter Valley, damaging windows, vehicles, skylights, and roof tiles.
The suburb of Rutherford was particularly hard hit as more than 50 people called for help in less than an hour.
Furthermore, the BoM said further severe thunderstorms were possible around central and northern parts of the Queensland coast on Wednesday, and perhaps in Brisbane. However, conditions were also expected to ease across the state by the afternoon.
At Gympie, a 100km/h wind gust was recorded on Tuesday, while golf ball-sized hail was spotted at Zillmere in Brisbane's north.
Thunderstorms in Victoria continued on Boxing Day, with the SES responding to more than 1,000 assistance requests over three days.
The bulk came from Frankston, Shepparton, Bendigo, and the state's west, but the focus was expected to shift to the east on Wednesday, with several flood warnings issued.
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