Tornado rips through Queensland town

The town of Bucca, west of Bundaberg has been hit by severe storms and a suspected tornado last night, rattling the community. 

The thunderstorm uprooted trees and caused widespread damage.

Witnesses describe the storm as being sudden and unexpected.

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A 60-year-old-man who had been sleeping in his shed is lucky to be alive, after a fallen tree caused the ceiling to collapse around him.

"He heard a loud bang in the middle of the night and woke up about 3 o'clock this morning and it was just all over his bed," his sister said.

"We thought we'd come out here, I came out here at seven o'clock this morning, I thought he'd be dead.

"It's going to take a few days to get over it, he's crying all the time."

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Residents spent the day cleaning up the damage from the storm.

Local Alan Schmidt describes waking up this morning to find that the roof of his shed had been blown off during the night.

He said that while storms are common for the region in spring, this one was particularly unnerving. 

"We heard thunder and lightning and it's pretty normal this time of year to have a storm come through, it's just that it got a bit more intense," Mr Schmidt said. 

"There's nothing you can do, you just have to sit and hold tight. 

"Everyone's been pretty good coming to help me out, just to try and protect what I've got in the shed."

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Another resident said it was the first time she feared for her life in the town.

"It was terrifying, I was frightened," she said.

"Dogs were going berserk, cats were as well."

The storm is one in a series of extreme weather events hitting Queensland over the last week, including record breaking hailstones measuring 16cms and other confirmed tornadoes. 

The Bureau of Meteorology is investigating the storm, but is yet to confirm if it was a tornado.