Aircraft services at Brisbane Airport were temporarily suspended around 11am local time after a tornado touched down near the airport. The Brisbane Airport Corporation has told local media, including ABC News Australia, that they are currently assessing damage but there have been no reports of injuries. the supercell that caused the tornado dumped 101mm of rain in 1 hour at the airport – 1 month’s worth of rain – a 1 in 50 year weather event.
⚠️ Severe Weather Event ⚠️
The airport precinct is currently experiencing severe storm activity. The impact is being assessed. Flight delays are anticipated. Check with your airline for updates. For your safety, please remain indoors if possible.— Brisbane Airport ✈️ (@BrisbaneAirport) October 22, 2021
Brisbane Airport spokesperson, Rachel Bronish, told ABC, “We haven’t had any reports of injuries which is fantastic news. But as you can imagine, there’s been reports of water leaks and trees down and debris across the precinct. Aircraft services were suspended for a short amount of time until the storm itself passed. If anybody is due to fly out from Brisbane Airport later this afternoon, we just encourage you to check in with your airline … just plan ahead and contact your airline.”
We can now confirm a tornado occurred during a supercell thunderstorm near @BrisbaneAirport. Video evidence shows the tornado touching down briefly. pic.twitter.com/9BDckPMsn8
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) October 22, 2021
The @BrisbaneAirport tornado can be spotted touching down as a supercell thunderstorm also brought heavy rainfall to the area this morning: 91mm at the airport and 101mm at Luggage Point. Giant hail in excess of 4cm to the south. Latest #QLDweather https://t.co/Ftfp3jhUK9 pic.twitter.com/MkW9v2n845
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) October 22, 2021
Perth Now reports an airport spokesperson as saying, “We have teams assessing exactly what damage has happened. I’ve seen some video suggesting things on the apron have flown about. Certainly there’s been some sort of sheeting or roofing that’s come off. I don’t know which building but it all seems to be around our international terminal.”
A tornado has hit the Port of Brisbane during this morning's severe storm over the city's east. Did you see the rare weather event? Send us a video at https://t.co/zu63SlPFF7. #qldweather #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/KIMrVs9W5e
— 7NEWS Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) October 22, 2021
As of 3:15pm local time Brisbane Airport’s website still says it has experienced severe storm activity and to check flight schedules. The airport also has entire page dedicated about what happens at the airport during a storm Brisbane Airport and storms