A storm with winds strong enough to rip the roofs from houses has battered Queensland's Sunshine Coast, leaving a trail of destruction.
Wind gusts estimated at up to 125km/h mauled Cooroy on the Sunshine Coast hinterland as a storm ripped through the area after 3pm (AEST) on Tuesday.
The Department of Community Safety says roofs were torn from five homes and six buildings on Cooroy's main street sustained significant damage.
Several roads have been closed due to multiple landslips while firefighters and State Emergency Service volunteers have set up a control centre at Cooroy.
Energex reports at least 27 powerlines are down and 14,000 homes and businesses are without power, mainly at Cooroy and nearby Black Mountain.
The thunderstorm rumbled across the Sunshine Coast between 3pm and 3.30pm (AEST), according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Forecaster Tony Auden estimated some wind gusts could have reached 125km/h.
'Based on radar signatures they would have been at least 90km per hour but there's every chance it was up around 125km/hour if not more,' he told AAP.
The severe thunderstorms are also affecting the northern Gold Coast and are predicted to hit the northern end of the Sunshine Coast and areas southwest of Bundaberg.
