Thousands of homes woke up without power in Queensland and northern NSW on Sunday after storms smashed parts of the east coast.

Giant hail, destructive winds and heavy rains hit late on Saturday and brought down trees and power lines.

Nine people at a school fair were injured by the weather, while Queensland’s State Emergency Service responded to about 75 call-outs in the South Western and Eastern Downs regions on Saturday afternoon.

As clean-up continued on Sunday, more than 2500 homes remained without power across Queensland, according to Ergon Energy.

The worst hit was the state’s South Burnett Regional Council, where some 814 people were without power due to damage and “storm activity”.

A further 415 properties remained without power in the Western Downs Regional Council area and

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