Nine people have been killed in Australia after severe thunderstorms brought hailstones and torrential rains to Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland over the Christmas holidays, authorities said Wednesday.
Reuters noted that the storms, which blew off roofs and felled trees, also brought down a concrete power line - something which Queensland Premier Steven MIles said was "unprecedented."
Le Monde noted that initially, the storm cut power to 110,000 homes. Around 90,000 still lack power.
The dead included three men who were killed after a yacht carrying 11 capsized near Green Island, two weomen who were found dead near the town of Gympie after being swept away in flooded stormwater drains, and a nine-year old girl found dead after going missing in a stormwater drain in southern Brisbane.
Another woman was found dead in a Victoria campground after the flood waters receded, and two people were killed by falling trees.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology expects that the storms will begin to let up later on Wednesday.