Severe thunderstorms cause damage across Canberra and Riverina

Powerful thunderstorms and high wind gusts caused widespread disruption across the Australian Capital Territory and the Riverina region on Sunday, October 25.

In Canberra, wind gusts reaching 72 km/h led to 60 emergency service callouts. Reported incidents included trees falling on houses in Giralang and vehicles in Griffith, with additional tree-related issues in Red Hill, Wanniassa, Belconnen, and Kambah. Power outages affected several suburbs, including Turner, Hughes, Kambah, Evatt, and Narrabundah, leaving some residents without electricity for up to three hours. No injuries were reported.

In the Riverina region of New South Wales, a thunderstorm brought damaging winds and large hailstones. Narrandera recorded wind gusts of 94 km/h. SES crews responded to numerous incidents in Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, West Wyalong, Tumut, Coolamon, and Cootamundra, primarily involving fallen trees blocking roads. Emergency services also attended two vehicle crashes on the Olympic Highway and Kidman Way; however, no injuries were reported in those incidents.