NSW, Queensland focus recovery as New Year's Eve weather warning issued

Authorities in northern New South Wales and Queensland issued severe weather warnings for New Year's Eve this week, even as thousands of residents remained without power and cleanup operations continued following devastating Christmas storms that killed 10 people.

A severe weather system stretching more than 1,000 kilometres from Port Macquarie in NSW through to Rockhampton in Queensland brought forecasts of giant hail, thunderstorms and heavy rain. The focus was expected to be the region from Charters Towers to Emerald in the state's north, where very dangerous thunderstorms were possible.

The timing compounded an already dire situation. The Christmas period had been brutal. Severe weather between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day devastated communities across Queensland and Victoria, killing 10 people including a nine-year-old girl who died in a stormwater drain. More than a week later, approximately 28,000 residents across the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan areas remained without power.

Emergency services bore the brunt of that initial crisis. NSW State Emergency Service crews fielded 473 calls for help over the Christmas weekend, conducting six flood rescues as the system swept through affected areas. Rainfall in some locations was extreme: Beerburrum on the Sunshine Coast recorded 110 millimetres in two hours, while Landsborough experienced 67 millimetres in just 30 minutes. Wind gusts near Gympie reached 93 kilometres an hour.

With recovery barely underway, the prospect of another significant weather event posed a serious challenge. The Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist Jonathan How warned residents to stay alert to flood warnings, noting that while widespread flooding was not expected, heavy rain accompanying thunderstorms could trigger flash flooding and rapid rises in waterways.

To accelerate cleanup operations, authorities deployed up to 70 defence force veterans and retired emergency service workers to the hardest-hit areas including the northern Gold Coast, Tamborine Mountain and Jimboomba. Their role was to remove fallen trees, clear debris, stabilise buildings and restore access to homes cut off by the Christmas storms.

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said these experienced volunteers would provide crucial assistance. "They will provide great value in assisting the Queensland government to clean up after such damaging storms and hopefully get things back to normal as quickly as possible," he said.

Strong wind warnings were already in effect for coastal regions including the Byron Coast in NSW and multiple areas across Western Australia's Pilbara and south as the region braced for what could be another destructive weather event.