Melbourne Airport

Rainwater came pouring through the ceiling of Melbourne Airport as storm hammered Australia's Victoria state on Thursday, wreaking havoc on flight operatio.

"The safety of passengers and staff is our top priority. With Christmas and New Year travel in full swing, more than 100,000 passengers were estimated to be flying through the airport on Thursday, according to reports. Now that the storm has passed, ground staff have resumed operations and are working to safely get passengers to their destinations," a Melbourne Airport spokesperson was quoted as saying in local media reports.

Melbourne airport grounded flights because of flooded terminals and the risk of lightning, as geelong was hit by hail up to 3cm in diameter.

Conditions have eased in the Mallee district, leading to the cancellation of a severe thunderstorm warning. “A low pressure trough is combining with a moist and unstable atmosphere to produce showers and thunderstorms across much of Victoria,” the BoM said. Melbourne Airport was lashed with the heaviest initial downpour, recording 40mm of rain in the 20 minutes to 5.30pm which resulted in the delays of a number of inbound and outbound flights. A spokesperson for Melbourne airport said all aerodrome operations were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to the risk of lightning strike, which resulted in the grounded flights. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for large parts of the state from Echuca in the north to Geelong in the south amid the downpour. Thousands of Victorians have been left without power and Melbourne airport has been forced to ground flights as a major storm front swept across the state’s south.