Gold Coast crane collapse sparks Christmas Day emergency as storms lash South port
Police have declared an emergency and evacuated parts of Southport after a storm-triggered crane failure left a tower crane partially collapsed over the Gold Coast Highway on Christmas afternoon, but miraculously caused no reported injuries.
Christmas Day incident
A violent Christmas Day storm swept across Southport about 3:15pm, battering a construction crane and bringing down multiple powerlines along the Gold Coast Highway near Loders Creek and the Broadwater. Emergency services rushed to the scene and quickly confirmed that, despite the dramatic damage, no workers or members of the public were believed to have been injured.
Emergency declaration and exclusion zone
Queensland Police enacted an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act before 4pm, locking down a large section of Southport amid fears the damaged crane or live powerlines could pose an ongoing threat. An exclusion zone was established covering the Gold Coast Highway, North Street, Loders Creek and the Broadwater, with people inside the zone told to remain indoors and others urged to avoid the area altogether.
Residents describe ‘intense and scary’ storm
Local resident Liz Freeman, who lives on the 12th floor of a nearby Labrador apartment building, described the cell that hit the precinct as “intense and scary” but short-lived. She said her windows shook as violently as they had during ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred, while heavy balcony furniture was tossed around “like paper” and a solid outdoor table was almost lifted over the railing by the wind.
Power outages across south-east Queensland
Energy provider Energex reported that a series of “small but intense” storm cells on Christmas Day knocked out electricity to thousands of homes and businesses across Brisbane, Somerset and the Gold Coast. By 6:30pm, about 7,000 customers were without power, with at least 15 powerlines reported down in the Southport area alone and crews waiting for conditions to stabilise before starting restoration work.
Severe weather warnings
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded wind gusts of around 45 knots more than 80 kilometres per hour at the Gold Coast Seaway as the storm swept through. A severe thunderstorm warning issued at 4:30pm for parts of south-east Queensland flagged the risk of damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall, with further warnings at 6pm as the system pushed north toward Gympie and the central coast with the possibility of intense rainfall.
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