Damage bill for Cyclone Debbie to run into the billions

The damage bill for Cyclone Debbie is expected to run into the billions, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.

The damage bill arising from Cyclone
Debbie could run into the billions.

Ms Palaszczuk said it would be a few weeks before the final cost was known, but it was expected to be "in the billions”.

"I mean, undoubtedly, this has had a huge impact right across this state, we've got roads down, we've got bridges down, we've got families that have lost everything," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"The farmers, the crops to our state, the produce, in relation to the coal ... the problem at the moment is the line from Blackwater.

"We've got coal ships waiting off the Port of Mackay, ready to go, the coal does need to dry out but as soon as that repair job is done to the railway network, it should be open for business, back to normal."

Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said there were still three people missing in Queensland, with authorities holding grave fears for them.

Read Felicity Coldwell’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Damage bill for Cyclone Debbie to run into the billions.”

Damage bill from devastating Mildura hail storm passes $100 million

(No one, well, at least no one I know, would attribute this significant event in Mildura to climate change, but the disruption to Earth’s weather system certainly makes such occurrences more likely, especially in their intensity and severity – Robert McLean)

Wine grape grower Russell McManus with
some severely damaged wine grape
 vines on his property near Mildura. 

The damage bill from the devastating hail storm that hit Mildura recently has passed $100 million and is expected to climb higher.

New figures from the Insurance Council of Australia reveal that the storm, which hit Victoria's Sunraysia district and communities in NSW and South Australia, has already generated about 20,000 insurance claims, with insurance losses so far estimated at $115 million across the three states.

But the final toll is likely to be higher, given some damage is not insured.

Campbell Fuller from the Insurance Council said it is expected to "take several months for the full extent of the losses to be known".

Read Darren Gray’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Damage bill from devastating Mildura hail storm passes $100 million.”