A Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) spokesman says gusts of 170km/h and 70mm of rain lashed Hughenden, about 400 kilometres west of Townsville, yesterday. "We had a few wind gusts, but that was easily the strongest of all of them," the BOM spokesman told AAP.
"Hughenden rocked everyone else. You can compare them to cyclones, but cyclones last for a sustained period of time and these winds lasted about an hour or so. "We classify them as a destructive wind."
The Department of Community Safety (DCS) said one woman had to be taken to hospital, there were half a dozen calls for help and about three homes were damaged. The BOM said more storms in the area were possible, but it was unlikely they would again generate such strong winds. "It's quite rare," the BOM spokesman said. "Usually the range it reaches is 90 to 100km per hour. Getting up to 170 is at the high end of the scale."