Adelaide slammed by its worst storm in decades

Powerful storm batters South Australia causing widespread power outage affecting airport, hospitals and traffic lights.

Adelaide Storm
More severe weather is expected in South Australia on Thursday. [Reuters]

A severe storm has battered South Australia, bringing a power cut to the entire state, including Adelaide, the state’s capital.

South Australia Power Networks confirmed that the power cut affected the entirety of Adelaide, including the airport, hospitals and traffic lights.

Passengers trying to fly out of the airport were faced with major delays, and were requested to check with their airline for the latest information.

Traffic lights stopped working shortly before rush hour, leading to a long ride home for commuters as the police took to the streets to direct traffic.

The rail network was also affected with Adelaide Metro, the public transport system of the city, announcing that Adelaide railway station was closed and all other train services were would also cease.

The stormy weather was caused by an active cold front. Winds gusting as high as 87 kilometres per hour were reported at Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula as hail slammed the region.

A number of residents reported trees and buildings being struck by lightning.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology had warned of the approaching storm, and 165 tonnes of sand had been bagged and distributed across the state in preparation of the storm.

The conditions are expected to worsen on Wednesday night and Thursday morning as an intense area of low pressure moves towards the South Australia coastline.

The winds could gust up to 140 km/h, particularly in locations just to the east of Adelaide, and up to 100 millimetres of rain is possible.

The State Emergency Service is advising people to move their vehicles under cover, secure items around their properties and to stay indoors while the conditions are severe.

Officials were also reminding people not to attempt to drive through flooded areas.

The windy, stormy weather is expected to ease across South Australia on Thursday, but the system will then head towards Victoria and New South Wales.

This is not welcome news for southeast Australia, where parts of both Victoria and New South Wales are still being affected by flooding.

Additional reporting by Steff Gaulter

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies