Arabic version: عاصفة تقطع الكهرباء عن آلاف المنازل في أليس سبرينغز

According to ABC News, a damaging storm cell swept through Central Australia on Monday afternoon, leaving thousands of Alice Springs homes without electricity and causing damage to trees, roads, powerlines and properties. The storm brought wind gusts of 96km/h, heavy rain and hail.

The Bureau of Meteorology said heavy rain and hail fell in Alice Springs at 3:30pm, while the local wind gust was recorded at 3:44pm. It said a surface trough coinciding with a warm and unstable air mass in southern parts of the Territory had led to severe thunderstorms.

Power and Water Corporation said approximately 9,000 properties lost power because of damage caused by the sudden storm cell. Arumbera, Burt Plain, Ilparpa, Simpson, Hermannsburg, Hugh, Namatjira and Wallace Rockhole were also affected. The corporation said crews were assessing the damage and would restore services as quickly as safely possible.

Fallen trees were reported on roads, powerlines and roofs, while the Alice Springs Hilton DoubleTree suffered significant ceiling damage. Cars parked outside the hospital were also damaged. NT Emergency Services had received 33 calls for assistance by 5pm, and urged residents to remain vigilant and monitor SecureNT for updates.

It was the second storm to hit Alice Springs in less than a week. Two storm cells were moving east over parts of the Simpson and Lasseter deserts and were expected to persist through the early evening.