‘It would have tossed a person around like a twig’: Incredible moment a powerful water spout smashes a 1.5-tonne powerboat into the air
- CCTV footage has captured a waterspout flipping a boat on the Gold Coast
- A winch was snapped and pulled out of the ground by the rotating system
- The 1.5-tonne boat flipped upside down and the entire pontoon was lifted up
- It was caused by a quick change in the wind direction from west to south-east
A waterspout has been captured flipping a boat out of the water as it spiraled through a Gold Coast marina.
The dramatic scene was shot on CCTV in Palm Beach, where a 1.5-tonne boat was flicked into the air after a winch was snapped off and pulled out of the concrete.
Boat owner Michaela Lund found her boat submerged and upside down off her jetty, and was shocked when she discovered what had happened.
‘It would have picked anybody up and tossed them around like a twig,’ Ms Lund told 7News.
A waterspout has been captured flipping a boat (pictured) in a Gold Coast canal
Ms Lund’s entire pontoon was lifted up by the powerful weather event as it spun through the waterway.
It continued its damaging swirl down the canal, where it was seen flipping another boat parked on the riverbank.
The waterspout was not caused by a rain event, but by a quick change in the wind direction from west to south-east, causing the spiral to shoot down the canal.
Meteorologist Livio Regano said that waterspouts are similar to ‘dust devils’ that often occur in inland areas, which are capable of lifting entire sheds from the ground.
Michaela Lund’s boat (pictured) was upended by the powerful weather system