A massive dust storm with winds of up to 110kph swept through parts of Queensland, Australia, with sections of the red cloud being caught on camera.
One video of the storm, filmed by local man Leaim Shaw, has swept across social media. Many comparing the scene from the town of Boulia, which was swallowed whole by the cloud on Sunday, to something from the post-apocalyptic Mad Max film franchise. The town of Boulia only has approximately 300 residents.
Residents described the dust storm as the biggest they have seen in years to local media. They said the sky turned red and relentless winds shook their homes as they sheltered in place, after a few had grabbed footage of the incoming cloud.
Meteorologists reported that the unusually large dust storm was caused by a series of thunderstorms in the area. Parts of Queensland were hit with heavy rainfall and cold weather after the dust cloud had rolled through.
“Storms are disorganized things, but sometimes they’ll organize together and on Sunday they did form along a line,” Bureau of Meteorology official Helen Kirkup told Yahoo News Australia.
The dust storm also tore through the towns of Mount Isla, Dajarra, and Urandangi.