Aussie hailstorm a ‘catastrophe’ with major damage costs expected

Sydney: Insurers declared a hailstorm that hit Australia’s New South Wales state capital Sydney a “catastrophe,” with major damage to vehicles and property expected, local media reported on Friday. “The declaration means insurers are prioritising claims from the hailstorm and they’re endeavouring to help customers as quickly as possible,” Insurance Council of Australia spokesperson Campbell Fuller told the ABC news channel. The cost of damage from the storm last Thursday will not be known for up to several weeks but was likely to be in the tens of millions of Australian dollars or higher under the label, said Mr Fuller.

Humid air sparked by low atmospheric pressure in the north helped fuel the wild weather, with hailstones as large as tennis balls pelting many parts of the city and widespread damage including smashed windscreens, windows and roofs reported.

“Giant hailstones, which is hail greater than 5cm, are quite specifically driven in supercell thunderstorms,” Jordan Notara from the national bureau of meteorology told the channel.

“We do get them quite regularly over summer ... but these storm cells redeveloped quite intensely over Sydney specifically.”

The storm had also disrupted transport services and power supply, with flights delayed or cancelled at Sydney Airport, according to the channel.