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Queenslanders have been urged to prepare for a severe disaster season, as emergency services brace for destructive thunderstorms, intense tropical cyclones, flooding, heatwaves, and bushfires through summer and well into the autumn months.
The state should also expect the frequency of large hail that has blanketed the south-east recently to continue, as the Bureau of Meteorology’s David Grant said the state is “getting pretty hot and sultry already”.
He said the severity of the heat will intensify deep into summer with an increased risk of heatwaves.
A photo of a recent storm over Brisbane taken from Coorparoo.Credit: Nigel Owen
“Statistics show heatwaves are the most dangerous thing, that takes most lives in the country,” he said.
“It’s definitely a lot more putrid than it is usually at this time of year.”
High ocean temperatures also mean weather systems may be more severe, Grant said.
“Any cyclones we get in the Coral Sea will probably have a better chance of hitting a higher category than they may have otherwise done so in the past, mainly due to all the very warm ocean temperatures we have sitting around the country at the moment,” he said.
Hail in Tarragindi after a recent storm.Credit: Brittney Deguara
“Our ocean temperatures around Australia have been either the warmest or the second-warmest on record, for each month, since July last year, which is a pretty incredible stat.
“When we talk about records you’re breaking something in isolation, but we have done it for nearly three months in the last 15 months. It’s pretty incredible.”
The state dealt with three significant events last season, including Cyclone Alfred, which put significant pressure on emergency services, Premier David Crisafulli said on Thursday.
“But we are ready and I’m very confident so are Queenslanders,” Crisafulli said. “We are taking this seriously, and I know they are as well.”
“We’re really focused on making sure that [disaster] information is available.”
Emergency services have carried out back burning on more than a million hectares of land, and have 440 swift water rescue crews in position.
Crisafulli is “absolutely” pushing for councils to have access to real-time disaster information from BOM that is currently behind a paywall.
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State Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy previously likened the paywall to a Netflix subscription.
“It’s something that’s pretty important,” Crisafulli said. “We’re asking councils to do a lot when it comes to making sure their communities are furnished with the information, and we think that’s a pretty small ask of Canberra.”
Grant acknowledged recent feedback on BOM’s website during storms in south-east Queensland, which forced the agency to return radar maps to previous versions.
“The main thing is we’re taking on all the feedback and trying to collate all that,” Grant said. “We’re going to be working with not just the community that are providing us feedback on that, but also working with our state district and local government to collate that feedback.”
“We want everyone to have the best level of service from the bureau to help them make the best decisions.”
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