Category Archives: Extreme weather

Small town flown out as ‘dynamic’ flooding hits large parts of Queensland

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Floodwaters have cut roads and isolated central and south-west communities after days of rain, forcing many to flee

Flood warnings remain in place for large parts of Queensland with heavy rainfall to continue on Saturday after significant falls overnight.

Inland parts of the state affected by severe floods in recent days are subject to major flood warnings, including on the Thomson, Barcoo, Bullo, Paroo and Warrego rivers.

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Three dead as Texas-Mexico border hit by severe flooding

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Harlingen receives more than 21in of rain this week, with 200 people still waiting to be rescued from their homes

At least three people have died after severe storms along the Texas-Mexico border, officials said on Friday.

Meanwhile, crews were rescuing residents trapped in their homes by drenching rains a day earlier, which also forced drivers to abandon their vehicles on flooded roads and shut down an airport.

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Stockpile 72 hours of supplies in case of disaster or attack, EU tells citizens

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Bloc’s first preparedness strategy urges people to prepare for floods, fires, pandemics or military strikes

People in the EU are being advised to stockpile enough food, water and essentials for 72 hours as part of a European strategy that aims to increase readiness for catastrophic floods and fires, pandemics and military attacks.

Outlining its first preparedness strategy, the European Commission said it wanted to encourage citizens to take “proactive measures to prepare for crises, such as developing household emergency plans and stockpiling essential supplies”.

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Alaska teen dies in avalanche, the state’s fourth snow slide fatality this month

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Tucker Challan, 16, was found on Sunday after triggering and being buried in an avalanche in Turnagain Pass

A teenager has died after triggering an avalanche, the fourth person killed in snow slides in Alaska this month.

Alaska State Troopers said the body of 16-year-old Tucker Challan of Soldotna was recovered from the avalanche on Sunday by the Alaska mountain rescue group.

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Three wildfires burn more than 3,300 acres in North and South Carolina

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South Carolina governor declares emergency as North Carolina announces mandatory evacuation in Polk county

Three major wildfires that broke out in one North Carolina county still recovering from Hurricane Helene have exploded to burn more than 3,000 acres combined as South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire in the Blue Ridge mountains.

The North Carolina department of public safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8.20pm on Saturday for parts of Polk county in western North Carolina about 80 miles (129km) west of Charlotte.

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Monster storm system in US south kills at least 35 people

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Several people killed in Kansas dust storm while scattered tornadoes cause fatalities in Missouri

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that killed at least 35 people as more severe weather was expected.

In western Kansas, a dust storm was reported to have killed eight people as high winds produced blowing dust over the interstate, causing collisions of more than 71 vehicles on the I-70.

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Weather tracker: Cyclone Jude causes chaos in Mozambique

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More than 200mm of rain fell in 24 hours, destroying 900 homes and leaving 40,000 people without power

Cyclone Jude was the third cyclone to hit Mozambique this season. First spotted as a depression last Friday to the south-west of the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, it intensified over the next few days to a moderate tropical storm, affecting northern Madagascar on Saturday and killing at least one person.

Jude strengthened into a tropical cyclone as it tracked westwards over the Mozambique Channel, where sea surface temperatures of close to 30C provided the heat and moisture necessary to fuel the cyclone.

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Atmospheric river to wallop California as study finds storms getting worse

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Thunderstorms and high winds forecast for San Francisco Bay while southern California under flood watch

A powerful atmospheric river storm was set to wallop California on Wednesday evening, drenching large swaths of the state with rain and bringing several feet of snow to the mountains – the latest in a wave of intense storms that new research shows are getting worse.

Much of northern California was under a winter storm warning because of the gusty winds and heavy snow in the forecast that the National Weather Service (NWS) said would lead to “difficult to impossible travel conditions”. Severe thunderstorms and high winds were predicted across the San Francisco Bay area, according to reports.

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Argentina flooding: 16 killed as two girls swept away by rising waters

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Authorities warn more fatalities expected as a year’s worth of rain falls on Bahía Blanca in eight hours

Rescue teams in Argentina are searching for two girls, aged one and five, who were swept away by severe floods that ripped through Buenos Aires province, killing at least 16 people.

A year’s worth of rain fell on the city of Bahía Blanca and the town of Cerri on Friday, rapidly inundating neighbourhoods and destroying homes, bridges and roads. The rainfall – 400mm (15.7in) recorded in just eight hours – was more than twice the city’s previous record of 175mm (6.8in) set in 1930.

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Almost 230,000 properties without power as ex-tropical cyclone brings more dangerous rain

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South-east Queensland and northern NSW face further heavy downpours

More than 230,000 households and businesses are without power and flash flooding alerts have been issued for coastal areas in the aftermath of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

The warnings follow heavy rain across southeast Queensland overnight and are clustered around the Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan and Ipswich council areas.

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Gold Coast residents told to ‘take shelter now’ as NSW authorities search for man missing in Cyclone Alfred flood waters

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Almost 100,000 homes in Queensland and NSW were without power on Friday evening as cyclone crawled towards the coast

Millions of people are sheltering from Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it crashes into the coast of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales bringing destructive winds and heavy rain.

The slow-moving weather system was finally expected to make landfall after speeding up overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning as it moved towards Brisbane.

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Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: wind and rain intensify as category 2 storm nears south-east Queensland and northern NSW

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BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Saturday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates today

Welfare recipients told to perform mutual obligations as cyclone bears down

We have a news story this morning about the impact the cyclone is already having on life in Queensland.

Fallen trees and giant stands of bamboo blocked the single road to our farm until the army and council brought heavy machinery to clear a path some time after.

We were without running water or power for days, maybe weeks, the packing shed a makeshift kitchen where we ate meals cooked off a gas barbecue and drank instant coffee made with rainwater and UHT milk to the hum of a generator.

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Welfare recipients told to perform mutual obligations as Tropical Cyclone Alfred bears down on Queensland

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Disability employment provider Help asked jobseekers to perform telephone appointments before later clarifying they were voluntary

Private employment agencies across Queensland have given jobseekers the impression they still need to perform their mutual obligations, despite there being a pause across large swaths of the state while it prepares for Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The mutual obligations scheme forces jobseekers to complete tasks such as applying for jobs or attending training, or risk their payments being stopped.

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Cyclone Alfred live updates: BoM tracking map forecast shows category 2 storm hitting Brisbane and south-east Qld; landfall in Queensland and NSW delayed as storm slows – latest news

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BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Friday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates today

Speaking of preparations, adjunct senior lecturer at the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University Yetta Gurtner gives advice here:

Chalmers confident insurance companies ‘know their responsibilities’

I’m confident they know their responsibilities and obligations to people.

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Brisbane schools and public transport shut as Cyclone Alfred to hit later than expected

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Parts of Queensland and NSW prepare as BoM weather forecast shows Alfred making landfall between Maroochydore and Coolangatta

Schools, airports, public transport and most businesses are beginning to shut down in Brisbane and across south-east Queensland, as authorities advised Tropical Cyclone Alfred will likely arrive later than expected.

Advice to residents is now that Alfred’s track to the coast has slowed, and that it will likely cross the southeast Queensland coast at some point on Friday.

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Tropical Cyclone Alfred: Queensland evacuations begin as storm path tracks towards Brisbane

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Up to 20,000 homes could be flooded, with beachside and low-lying suburbs most at risk, city council flood map shows

Queensland authorities are advising some residents to leave coastal properties in the path of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, amid warnings that a storm surge of up to 1 metre higher than typical tides could inundate communities.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australian Defence Force assets have been placed on standby to respond to the looming storm, which was tracking towards the heavily populated coastline between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

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Cyclone Alfred forecast: people urged to prepare for the worst as storm bears down on south-east Queensland

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Residents warned to stock up on food and water and secure properties as BoM predicts Alfred will make landfall near Brisbane

People have been warned to leave or prepare for the worst, with a tropical cyclone on track to cross a densely populated part of Australia’s coast for the first time in 50 years.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is looming off Queensland’s coast, threatening to bring heavy rainfall, damaging winds and monster waves.

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Four million Queenslanders warned they could be in ‘firing line’ when Cyclone Alfred heads towards coast

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Bureau of Meteorology says guidance ‘favours landfall on Thursday’ as premier David Crisafulli warns ‘large system presents big challenge’

Tropical Cyclone Alfred will “likely” turn towards major population centres in south-east Queensland this week, with authorities warning more than 4 million people from Bundaberg to the Gold Coast that their communities could be “in the firing line”.

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said on Sunday the system could cause serious and potentially dangerous coastal erosion, flash flooding and strong winds.

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‘People are paying too much’: Coalition could break up big insurance companies, Dutton says

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Opposition leader says more competition needed as growing numbers unable to afford home and car insurance

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the Coalition could seek to break up insurance companies found to be gouging policyholders and more competition is needed in the sector.

In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Dutton said the Coalition’s divestiture policy – which threatens to carve apart big supermarkets and hardware chains as a “last resort” to combat price rip-offs – could also be applied to big insurers.

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Pilbara community evacuated by helicopter over Cyclone Zelia flooding risk

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Storm quickly weakened after making landfall east of Port Hedland with strongest parts hitting remote areas

Properties have been damaged and large trees uprooted by an ex-tropical cyclone still wreaking havoc in Western Australia, with record rainfall triggering significant flooding from which people are being evacuated by helicopter.

Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall in the north-west of Western Australia on Friday and was quickly weakened as it crossed the coast east of Port Hedland.

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