Blueberry grower Stephen Thandi from northern New South Wales is assessing extensive storm damage after a severe thunderstorm swept through his Kungala property over the weekend. The system, described as one of the most widespread of the year by the Bureau of Meteorology, brought strong winds, heavy rain, and large hailstones across parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
Mr Thandi, who operates a blueberry farm south of Grafton, was alerted to the event by a neighbour on Saturday evening. "My neighbour said, 'It's like a freight train has gone through,' and when I got there, it was like a bomb had dropped on it," he said. "We lost some protected cropping, all metal twisted up, all my blueberry netting, half the farm is on the ground. There was some hail, but it was more of a mini tornado, which stripped the leaves and fruit off."
Hailstones ranging from golf ball to cricket ball size were reported across multiple regions, including Kungala. Mr Thandi said the damage included collapsed crop protection structures and extensive fruit losses. "I think the damage bill, after just having a quick look, is already at least $300,000 (US$195,000), and it will probably turn out more, the infrastructure and fruit loss," he said.
Local resident Ron Dow, 79, who lives on Riverbank Road near the affected area, said he had lived in the region for five decades and had never seen such conditions. "I'd say it was a mini-tornado type thing, and it touched down right over this area in a circle of 2 to 3 kilometres. I've never seen anything like this," he said.
Mr Dow described strong winds and dense rain that quickly reduced visibility. "All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, the wind was just phenomenal, the strength of the wind, and the rain came, and it was that thick you could not see through it, it was like a fog," he said.
Once the storm passed, he surveyed the impact on his property. "It made a hell of a mess. It put trees down over the road, it destroyed my watermelon patch, my rockmelons, twisted my tomatoes up," he said.
Clean-up efforts are ongoing as growers in the region assess damage to infrastructure and crops following the storm.
Source: ABC News
