Arabic version: عواصف شديدة تضر بأعمال تجارية ومحطات في أليس سبرينغز

According to ABC News, severe, tornado-like storms swept through parts of the Northern Territory, leaving Central Australian residents and businesses assessing damage. Rain, hail and winds of nearly 100km/h hit Alice Springs on Monday afternoon, tearing roofs from houses, bringing down trees and powerlines, and covering roads with leaf litter and mud.

The Double Tree Hilton sustained extensive damage across parts of its building, including tenancies, a beauty salon, restaurants, ballroom and meeting areas, and back-of-house spaces, general manager Todd Grierson said. Footage showed rain blowing under front doors and water pouring through the ceiling above reception desks. Mr Grierson said guest rooms had not been affected and estimated repairs would cost more than half a million dollars.

Power outages also forced Alice Springs cafe The Roastery to discard thousands of dollars’ worth of food. Owner Kim Hopper said the business had received a delivery on the day of the first storm, but food safety requirements meant many products had to be thrown out. Staff were documenting the losses and disposing of hundreds of litres of milk, she said, adding that the cafe would make an insurance claim.

At Undoolya Station, about 20 kilometres east of Alice Springs, owner Ben Hayes described the storm as swirling “like a tornado.” He said a lean-to had collapsed onto a house, windows were smashed, a chook pen was blown away and the roof of a historic storeroom was ripped off. Documents from the storeroom were moved into a storage container. Further south-west, Lyndavale Station, 250 kilometres from Alice Springs, recorded golf-ball-sized hailstones.