10 Things you didn’t know about... Severe Thunderstorms

1.  Australia’s severe thunderstorm season generally runs from September to March with South East Queensland considered the region most vulnerable to storm damage. 2.  A severe thunderstorm is defined by the Bureau of Meteorology as one which produces some or all of the following:        hail (diameter of 2 cm or more) wind gusts (90 km/h or greater) flash flooding or heavy rain tornadoes thunder and lightening 3.  Tornadoes are the rarest and most violent of thunderstorm phenomena and have caused approximately 41 deaths in Australia to date. 4.  On 16 December 1988, the city of Brisbane was hit with a hailstorm so severe it produced hail stones up to 10 cm in diameter. 5.  Worldwide, severe thunderstorms produce approximately 6,000 lightening strikes every minute with the average bolt carrying a current of up to 30000 amps (the average radiator draws 10 amps). 6.  In 1996 Australia suffered 23 natural disasters – 15 of which were severe thunderstorms that cost the nation $772 million in total damage repairs. 7.  The 9,290 volunteer members of the SES are at their busiest during storm season and last year responded to over 2,120 calls for assistance relating specifically to storm damage. 8.  The most common activity carried out by the SES following a severe thunderstorm is emergency roof repair or “tarping” which is more involved than many realise: Step 1: Conduct a risk assessment of the house Step 2: Establish a height safety restraint system Step 3: Inspect damaged area and determine  size of tarp required Step 4: Prepare tarp by folding it correctly on the ground Step 5: Deploy tarp to roof and ensure lines to ground are secure 9.  Last year the SES spent over 31,000 hours responding to storm damage with over 21,000 of these hours spent on homes in the South ,East region. 10.  Storm damage is by far the most common reason for call-out among SES units with activation statistics placing storm damage well above other regular activities such as land searches, traffic control and police assistance.