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Family escapes as tree spears house during storms

Thursday December 4, 2008 - 08:48 EDT

The hoop pine was hit by lightning and landed in the kitchen of the home. - ABC

The tree speared through the roof of the house during wild storms in south-east Qld overnight. - ABC

Owner Hugh Paterson says the tree missed his family by about a metre. - ABC

The tree came through the roof of the house through the ceiling and through the floor below. - ABC

A man says his wife and two children are lucky to be alive after a tree speared through their roof during wild storms in south-east Queensland overnight.

The hoop pine was hit by lightning and landed in the kitchen of the home at Taringa in Brisbane's west.

Owner Hugh Paterson was not home at the time but he says the tree missed his family by about a metre.

"The top of the tree has either been blown off or it's fallen off, it's come through the roof of the house through the ceiling and through the floor below and sticks out the bottom," he said.

"My wife's very shaken up at the moment.

"We're very lucky that she wasn't killed or injured in any other way."

Mr Paterson says his wife got a small cut to her head.

"She was standing in the doorway when all of a sudden the top of the tree has come through the roof," she said.

"As that's happened she's screamed at my son and daughter who were sitting on the couch less than a metre from the tree.

"They've both screamed and they've all gone across to the neighbour and phoned the SES from there."

Wind and lightning took down powerlines across the region.

Energex spokesman Danny Donald says the storms caused blackouts for at least 35,000 customers.

"Properties ranging from the north coast down to the border, so it was a fairly widespread and well rounded storm that worked its way through our network," he said.

Mr Donald says power has been restored to most homes.

"The main concern for Energex last night was the intense lightning strikes that were brought along by the storm," he said.

"They certainly caused havoc in parts of the network particularly in Brisbane's north which seems to be getting its fair share of storm damage this year."

- ABC

© ABC 2008