Severe storms can't dampen Schoolies

Steve Ots catches massive hailstones falling in the water of the Sunshine Coast.

ANOTHER day, another storm in the southeast. Follow all the weather action here.

10.45pm: RAIN has failed to dampen spirits on the opening night of Schoolies.

While severe thunderstorms delayed the party for about an hour, stages set on the stretch of sand at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast have been reopened.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Schoolies organiser Mark Weyburn said the party was closed off to young revellers amid concerns of wet weather affecting electrical equipment.

"We didn't open the gates until an hour or so later than we had hoped but it didn't stop the teens from partying," Mr Weyburn said.

"The rain just amped up the crowds even more so that when the storm passed they all flooded into the party in good spirits."

Mr Weyburn said Schoolies had been well behaved this year with very few incidents.

Head Red Frog Andy Gourley said this year's crop of graduates have been well behaved so far.

Schoolies celebrate the rain

"Moving them out of the hotel rooms has been fantastic and everyone seems to be getting right into it," he said.

"The next couple of hours will get busy as we start our 'walk home' service.

"Last year we did about 6000 walk homes and some volunteers have already taken some Schoolies back to Broadbeach. Red Frogs are going to clock up the kilometres tonight."

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms
 

7.15pm: ACCESS to the schoolies beach party has been closed temporarily while emergency services evaluate the storm threat.

Thousands of schoolies are assembling on the streets around Cavill Mall.

Gold Coast Schoolies spokesman Wayne Hickson said emergency services are keeping an eye on a developing storm front but organiser have no plans to close off the beach party at this stage.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

"It would have to be cyclonic weather to stop these guys from partying," Mr Hickson said.

"At the moment the worst of the storm looks like it will go around us but we have plenty of systems in place in case we need to evacuate the beach quickly."

Messages broadcast on large television screens, SMS warnings and audio warnings are on hand to alert schoolies if required.

If the party is shut off, Red Frogs volunteers will do the rounds at hotel room parties to keep the estimated 30,0000 school leavers entertained and out of trouble.

Mr Hickson said schoolies week is off to a slow start but is sure to pick up as the night wears on.

Weather photo Saturday night at the Story Bridge with lightning clouds. Picture: Adam Armstrong

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms
 

6.50pm: THE Bruce Highway has been reopened at two sections following separate incidents earlier this evening.

Motorists can now use one lane of the highway after a minor car crash 40km north of Gin Gin.

Emergency services are still removing the damaged vehicle from the road.

The highway is also open near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after a tree-related incident about 3pm.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Water spout forming over Moreton Bay at approximately 6.30am Saturday morning. Picture: Juliet Bates

6.30pm: THUNDERSTORMS may rain on the parade of school leavers with another round of severe weather warnings issued for southeast Queensland.

The weather bureau has warned residents near the NSW border to expect storms near the McPherson Range by 6.25pm and Springbrook and Little Nerang Dam by 6.55pm.

The storms are moving northeast and forecasters have advised locals near the Gold Coast to prepare to batten down the hatches.

Further north, similar warnings have been given to residents near Mackay, Prosperine, Moranbah, Collinsville, Hamilton Island and Sarina on the central Queensland coast.
 

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

3pm: DOUBLE Island Point, Rainbow Beach and Wide Bay are now being warned to brace for thunderstorms with the Bureau predicting impact at around 3.05pm.

At 2.35pm severe storms were detected near Beenleigh and Russell Island, they are forecast to affect Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3.05pm.

A 'very dangerous' thunderstorm on the Sunshine Coast brings hailstones the size of tennis balls.

Police are advising motorists that the Bruce Highway is closed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after trees fell onto the road.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

2.50pm: Steve Ots is visiting the Sunshine Coast from the Gold Coast and witnessed the hail storm from his twelfth storey apartment on the Maroochydore esplanade.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

"I started hearing really loud noises - like a construction site," he said. 

"When I looked in the distance I could see all this splashing up the river and I realised it was hail. 

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Hail hits the water at Maroochydore and leaves huge splashes. Picture: Steve Ots

"Originally I thought someone was throwing things from the apartment above us.

"The hail was orange-sized and it looked like a war zone…it was crazy, I've never seen hail like it before."

Taking shelter on his balcony Mr Ots said the hail caused considerable damage on the ground below.

"I wonder about the damage that it must have done," he said, 

"You wouldn't want to be on the ground when these things were coming down…the speed was pretty phenomenal."

2.45pm: Double Island Point, Rainbow Beach and Wide Bay are now being warned to brace for thunderstorms with the Bureau predicting impact at around 3.05pm.

At 2.35pm severe storms were detected near Beenleigh and Russell Island, they are forecast to affect Mount Cotton, Macleay Island and Victoria Point by 3.05pm.

Police are advising motorists that the Bruce Highway is closed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton, after trees fell onto the road.

2.40pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has updated weather warnings with very dangerous thunder storms detected near Maroochydore and Beenleigh, both cells are moving east.

A resident of Mooloolah Valley holds up a massive hailstone from a storm that sounded like explosions on the roof.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Jacobs Well and Russell Island by 2:45 pm.

Thunderstorms were also located north of Noosa and at Lake Cooloola.

2pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has added to the list of southeast Queensland towns warned to brace for oncoming storms.

Dangerous storm cells have been detected on radars near Jimboomba, Logan Village, Greenbank and Conondale.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

Very dangerous thunderstorms are forecast to affect Beenleigh, Logan City, Nambour and Mapleton by 2:20 pm.

Cleveland, Manly, Wynnum and Yandina may be affected by 2:50 pm.

Hail at Novotel Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast.

1.35pm: The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its storm warnings, with two storms cells centred around Maroochydore and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert.

The storms are moving towards the east to northeast.

The storms are classed as "very dangerous" and are forecast to affect Tamborine, Jimboomba, Logan Village and waters off Coolum Beach by 1:55 pm.

Beenleigh, Coomera, Hope Island and Jacobs Well will be hit by 2:25 pm.

Other severe thunderstorms were located near the NSW border and the area south of the NSW border.

They are forecast to affect the area southwest of Noosa Heads, the area west of Noosa Heads, Tewantin and Pomona by 1:55 pm.

Coolangatta, Caboolture, Noosa Heads and waters off Noosa Heads are predicted to be affected by 2:25 pm.

Residents are warned to brace for large hailstones and damaging winds.

Massive hailstones pounded the Mooloolah Valley. Picture: Higgins Storm Chasing/Rebecca Shepperson

1.15pm: Tennis ball-sized hail has fallen at Buderim as a large storm cell sweeps over the Sunshine Coast.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

The Bureau of Meteorology has reported "very dangerous thunderstorms" detected on weather radar near Maroochydore, Boonah, Caloundra and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert.

PICTURES: Readers capture southeast storms

They are forecast to affect Beaudesert, waters off Caloundra and waters off Maroochydore by 1:25 pm and Canungra, Mount Tamborine, Tamborine and Jimboomba by 1:55 pm.

Marburg, Lowood, northern Lake Wivenhoe and Mount Kilcoy will receive falls at around 1:25 pm.

Ipswich, Crohamhurst, Maleny and Conondale will receive further falls by 1:55 pm.

12.55pm: Residents are reporting a blanket of hail, some the size of large marbles, after more than 20 minutes of solid falls.

The water funnel as seen from a dive boat off Wynnum. Picture: Josh Keen

The storm cell is moving east to northeast and are forecast to hit Maroochydore by 12.55pm.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also detected severe thunderstorms near Esk and to the west of the town.

The storms are forecast to affect Boondah, Esk and the northwest of Esk by 12.55pm, and the area between Boonah and Beaudesert, northern Wivenhoe and Toogoolawah by 1.25pm.

Got a storm pic?  MMS 0428 258 117

Damaging winds and very large hailstones are likely.

Capricornia, parts of the Central Coast, the Whitsundays, the Central Highlands and the Coalfields districts are being warned to brace for damaging winds and large hail stones in the next two hours.

Emerald, Rockhampton, Clermont, Blackwater, Yeppoon, Baralaba, Marlborough, St Lawrence and Dysart may be affected.

Earlier, walkers on the Wynnum foreshore got a shock this morning when a large water funnel was spotted just off the coast.

Reader Janet Rough snapped a picture about 6.45am, with the odd formation dominating the skyline.

Commonly referred to as a water spout, Bureau of Meteorology Duty Forecaster Gordon Banks said the formation was more likely to be a small tornado over water.

Meet the one man weather bureau

Readers capture southeast storms

"In this instance being as it was associated with a thunderstorm it's most likely a tornado over water," he said.

"It would actually pick up water as it moved; it's hard to see if they don't have water or dirt wrapped around them."

Also spotted from the airport, if the formation is a tornado Brisbane could be on the receiving end of a weather phenomenon.

"If it was a tornado, and I suspect it was but it's hard to prove, then it's very unusual and very rare," Mr Banks said.

"Statistically we're unlikely to get another one, but if the environments produced one there remains a chance of another.

"It's just another part of the danger associated with thunderstorms and why it's always best to take cover."

Southeast Queensland's wet weather is expected to continue, with the bureau predicting significant rain over Sunday and Monday with thunderstorms also predicted.

- reporting by Caitlin Drysdale, Naomi Lim, Jacinda Tutty and Kathleen Donaghey

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Hellish search continues in Philippines

JOHN Lajara peers under a slab of crumbled concrete, lifts a sodden white teddy bear then drops it back into the filth. But he's searching for something far more precious - the body of his brother, Winston.

The search for the missing - 1,179 by official count - has become a hellish daily activity for some. In Lajara's seaside village, residents estimate that about 50 of the 400 people who lived there were killed. About half of the dead are still missing: mothers, fathers, children and friends.

"Somehow, part of me is gone," Lajara said as another fruitless expedition in the rubble ended Saturday.

Lajara has carried out the routine since both he and his brother were swept from their house by Typhoon Haiyan on November 8. And every day has ended so far with no answers on Winston's fate.

According to the latest figures by the Philippines' main disaster agency, 3,633 people died and 12,487 were injured. Many of the bodies remain tangled in piles of debris, or are lining the road in body bags that seep fetid liquid. Some are believed to have been swept out to sea.

After the initial days of chaos, when no aid reached the more than 600,000 people rendered homeless, an international aid effort was gathering steam.

"We're starting to see the turning of the corner," said John Ging, a top UN humanitarian official in New York. He said 107,500 people have received food assistance so far and 11 foreign and 22 domestic medical teams are in operation.

US Navy helicopters flew sorties from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington off the coast, dropping water and food to isolated communities. The US military said it will send about 1,000 more troops along with additional ships and aircraft to join the aid effort.

So far, the US military has moved 174,000 kilograms of supplies and flown nearly 200 sorties.

The focus of the aid effort is on providing life-saving aid for those who survived, while the search for missing people is lower in the government's priorities.

The head of the country's disaster management agency, Eduardo del Rosario, said the coast guard, the navy and civilian volunteers are searching the sea for the dead and the missing.

Still, he said, the most urgent need is "ensuring that nobody starves and that food and water are delivered to them."

Lajara's neighbour, Neil Engracial, cannot find his mother or nephew, but he has found many other bodies. He points at a bloated corpse lying face down in the muddy debris. "Dante Cababa - he's my best friend," Engracial says. He points to another corpse rotting in the sun. "My cousin, Charana." She was a student, just 22.

Lajara remembers the moment his brother vanished.

They were standing alongside each other side by side with relatives and friends before the surge hit. They stared at the rising sea, then turned to survey the neighbourhood behind them, trying to figure out where or if they could run. Then the wave rushed in.

Lajara, Winston and the others dived into the water, and were swept away from each other. After Lajara's face hit the water, he never saw Winston again.

Lajara has trudged through the corpse-strewn piles of rubble and mud, searching for two things: wood to rebuild his home, and Winston. So far he has found only wood.

On Saturday, he set out again. The rat-a-tat-tat of a snare drum echoed across the landscape, as a young boy played the instrument from the roof of a gutted building. It was a grim accompaniment to what has become Lajara's daily march into the corpse-strewn wasteland that was his home, where the sickly sweet stench of death mixes with the salty sea air.

Reminders of the people who once lived here are wedged everywhere among the warped piles of wood, glass and mud: a smiling, bowtie-clad stuffed bumblebee. A woman's white platform shoe. A wood-framed photograph of a young boy.

Suddenly, a neighbour, Pokong Magdue, approached.

"Have you seen Winston?"

Magdue replies: "We saw him in the library."

Lajara shakes his head. It can't be Winston. He's already searched the library.

Sometimes people come to him and inform him that Winston's body has been found. Lajara must walk to the corpse, steel himself, and roll it over to examine the face.

He then must deal with conflicting emotions: relief that the body is not his brother's. Hope that Winston might still be alive. And grief that he still has no body to bury. Because at least then, he says, he could stop searching.

Winston was his only brother. He had a wife and two teenage children. He was a joker who made everyone laugh. He drove a van for a living and was generous to everyone. He was a loving father.

"It's hard to lose somebody like him," Lajara says.

Now, the only trace of his brother that remains is his driver's licence. The upper left-hand corner of the licence is gone, and the picture is faded. Lajara leaves it with a friend for safekeeping when he is out hunting for wood and Winston.

He gazes at the card in his hand. "When I want to see him, I just stare at his picture."

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Aust asylum patrol boats for Sri Lanka

AUSTRALIA will give two retired navy patrol boats to Sri Lanka in a bid to crack down on people smugglers.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sunday will visit a Colombo port to meet Sri Lankan navy officials and government members and tour a patrol boat.

"Australia appreciates its strong co-operative relationship with Sri Lanka in countering people smuggling," Mr Abbott said.

This year 14 asylum seeker boats have travelled directly from Sri Lanka to Australia, compared with 120 in 2012.

The prime minister said the Sri Lankan navy was getting better at disrupting people smugglers, with at least 12 on-water interceptions in 2013.

And a communication campaign in local villages was convincing people that "illegal entry by boat will never lead to resettlement in Australia", Mr Abbott said.

Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is using his role as host of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this weekend to show the world, and his own people, that economic and social conditions are improving.

But human rights advocates say basic freedoms and the rule of law are routinely breached and minorities are still persecuted.

Sri Lanka is also under pressure to allow an independent inquiry into state-sanctioned abuses against its Tamil minority as well as war crimes including the killing of tens of thousands of civilians during its 2009 defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels.

Mr Abbott has urged Commonwealth leaders to engage with rather than isolate Sri Lanka as it seeks to rebuild from three decades of war.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who visited the island's Tamil-led north on Friday told reporters the summit should not shy away from controversial topics.

"I think it's right to confront and discuss the difficult issues, the human rights issues, journalistic-freedom issues, importance of reconciliation," Mr Cameron said.

"But I think we do that not by gliding over the difficult issues."

Mr Cameron praised Mr Abbott as a "politician of immense stature and ability".

Meanwhile, Commonwealth leaders will have to decide on hosts for consecutive forthcoming CHOGMs after 2015 host Mauritius pulled out.

The Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam, who boycotted the Colombo summit over Sri Lanka's human rights record, said he could not in good conscience host other leaders having not attended the 2013 event.

There is also a push to return Fiji to the fold, after it was suspended from the Commonwealth over the 2006 coup.

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Don't expect a China baby boom: experts

DON'T expect a new Chinese baby boom, experts say, despite the first easing of the country's controversial one-child policy in three decades.

Some 15 million to 20 million Chinese parents will be allowed to have a second child after the government announced Friday that couples where one partner has no siblings can have two children. But the easing of the policy is so incremental that demographers are not anticipating an influx of newborn babies.

"A baby boom can be safely ruled out," said Wang Feng, professor of sociology at the University of California Irvine.

Wang noted that although Chinese couples where both parents have no siblings have for some time been allowed to have a second child, many have elected to have only one.

"Young people's reproductive desires have changed," he said.

Xia Gaolong and his wife are among those who will be allowed to have a second child as a result of the new policy, but he said he has no intention of giving his 10-year-old son a sibling.

Xia, who runs a tour bus business in the thriving city of Nanjing in eastern China, said the high cost of living and fierce competition for schools and jobs would deter him from bringing another child into the world.

"No way will I have another child," said Xia, who is in his late 30s. "There are so many pressures in life in today's society, and our children will only face more pressures."

Experts estimate that the new rules allowing couples where one partner is an only child to have a second baby will result in 1 million to 2 million extra births per year in the first few years, on top of the 16 million babies born annually in China.

Cai Rong, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the figure could be even lower because of the growing acceptance of small families.

In an unscientific survey on the Chinese-language social media platform Sina Weibo, more than 60 per cent of those who self-identified as being eligible for the new exemption from the one-child limit said they would have a second child.

"A second child is absolutely necessary, and we thank the new policy," said May Zha, 34, of Beijing, the mother of a 3-year-old.

Zha said that her husband is an only child, making the couple eligible for the new exemption, and that they plan to have another baby as soon as possible. "Time does not wait," she said.

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Pakistan praised for rogue soldier arrest

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has personally thanked Pakistan's leader Nawaz Sharif over the arrest of a rogue Afghan soldier accused of murdering three Australian soldiers.

Sergeant Hekmatullah was captured in Pakistan in February after close co-operation between Pakistan, US, British and Australian intelligence services.

He has been charged with murdering Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate during an insider attack at Patrol Base Wahab in Afghanistan in August 2012.

Two other Australians were wounded, along with several Afghans.

Mr Abbott spoke with Mr Sharif on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo on Friday, and thanked Pakistan for its assistance.

The leaders also discussed security and economic challenges facing Pakistan, including the continuing threat from militants and recent disruptions in the supply of power across the country.

Pakistan's relationship with India, trade and the prospects for stability in Afghanistan were also on the agenda.

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New device aims to reduce stillbirths

AN experimental device that helps deliver babies during troubled labours was invented by an auto mechanic in South America.

It's being developed as part of an effort to reduce stillbirths around the world.

The instrument is named the Odon Device in honor of its inventor, car mechanic Jorge Odon of Argentina, who got the idea when friends re-created a YouTube video showing how to extract a cork from a wine bottle.

It is to be tested in Argentina and South Africa before wider distribution.

Birth is still a perilous event in the developing world.

According to the World Health Organisation, 2.6 million babies were stillborn globally in 2009, a number that has declined little since 1995, when there were 3 million stillbirths.

Moreover, about 260,000 women died in childbirth last year.

The device being developed by Becton, Dickinson and Co of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, essentially consists of a polyethylene bag and a tube.

The bag is inserted into the birth canal and inflated slightly to create a balloon that holds onto the baby's head.

That makes it easier to deliver the newborn, without the potential dangers that arise when a less-skilled practitioner uses forceps or vacuum suction.

It's also an alternative to cesarean sections, which are not readily available in poor countries.

"Developing countries just don't have access to the type of interventions that women would receive in the US or Western Europe," said Gary Cohen, executive vice president at BD, a medical technology company that is a leading manufacturer of needles and syringes.

Officials there estimate that if the tests go well, the device will be ready for use in about three years.

Odon got the idea in 2005 after seeing a plastic bag inserted into a wine bottle and inflated to get a cork out through the bottle's narrow neck.

He connected with officials at WHO, and the concept won a competition called "Saving Lives at Birth," which is sponsored by USAID, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organisations.

Officials from WHO reached out to Becton Dickinson in January 2012 because of the company's experience working with governments and non-profits to tackle health issues - especially HIV/AIDS - in the developing world, according to Cohen.

The company doesn't have any background in obstetrics, but it does have expertise in global distribution, as well as plastics molding, he said.

BD is working on the device under an exclusive licensing agreement with the inventor, as well as an agreement with WHO that calls for WHO to test the device.

BD said it plans to develop and manufacture the device in Singapore and distribute it globally, starting in areas where the maternal mortality rate is highest.

BD will make a profit on the product, but plans to offer it at an affordable price in developing countries. Cohen said it's too early to estimate prices for Odon.

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Harry urged to return Down Under

PRINCE Harry proved such a hit during his recent trip to Australia he should return - and stay longer - Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.

The prince spent just 36 hours Down Under during a visit last month to celebrate the centenary of the country's navy - but caused what was dubbed "Harry mania".

Speaking during a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, which was opened by the Prince of Wales, Abbott said: "It would be a good idea if he did what his father did and came out for a longer time."

Charles developed a deep affection for Australia when, in 1966, he spent about six months as an exchange student at Timbertop, a remote outpost of the Geelong Church of England Grammar School in Melbourne.

Abbott made the remarks as he attended a lunch reception hosted by Charles in Colombo for new Commonwealth leaders.

Speaking to other politicians, he added: "Prince Harry came to Australia recently and he's a knockabout guy. He took Sydney by storm. He would be welcome back to Australia any time."

Harry returned from Sydney last month after attending the International Fleet Review to celebrate the Australian Navy's 100th anniversary.

He also spent a few months in the country in 2003 as a jackeroo working at a cattle station during a gap year.

Charles did not hear the comments about his son but when he chatted to Abbott the conversation turned to the quality of Australian wine compared to English.

The Australian prime minister explained to the prince that he had been handed a glass of Camel Valley sparkling wine produced in Cornwall.

Charles told the politician: "Of course the Australian ones are much better."

Abbott then replied: "I have been angling for that compliment for some time."

The prince then recalled how he flew over the Penfolds wine estate when he arrived in Australia in the sixties.

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