Category Archives: Extreme weather

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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‘Going to be a big one’: category five Tropical Cyclone Zelia and 320km/h winds headed for Western Australia coast

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‘Top of the scale’ winds strong enough to take out complete houses, destroy power lines and cause widespread damage and disruption

Schools, ports and roads have been closed as northern Australia braces for a tropical cyclone that has developed into a destructive category five system bringing ferocious wind gusts up to 320km/h.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia has rapidly intensified since developing off the Western Australian coast and is forecast to be at its most dangerous and powerful when it hits land.

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Intense heatwave in southern Brazil forces schools to suspend return

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Record highs delay start of classes in Rio Grande do Sul, where floods linked to climate crisis left 180 dead last May

During historic floods last May that left more than 180 dead in Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, the water rose to the ceiling of the Olindo Flores school in the city of São Leopoldo, destroying furniture, books and parts of its infrastructure.

When classes resumed more than a month later, its 500 students had to be relocated to another school for months.

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Torrential rain and flash floods hit Sydney as massive storms roll across NSW and eastern Victoria

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Bureau of Meteorology warns severe conditions will continue as parts of NSW coated in hail

Thunderstorms across New South Wales and eastern Victoria on Monday brought flash flooding, destructive winds and hail, as the Bureau of Meteorology warns severe conditions would continue.

A major storm rolled across the Sydney CBD around midday on Monday, bringing dark skies and heavy rainfall. By mid-afternoon, he city had recorded 52.8mm of rain at Observatory Hill since 9am, according to the BoM. Horsley Park, 50km west of the city, had recorded 87.8mm.

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State Farm seeks emergency 22% rate hike in California after LA wildfires

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State’s largest home insurer, which has paid customers over $1bn, claims fires put firm under increased financial strain

State Farm General, California’s largest home insurer, is seeking an emergency rate increase for homeowners following the Los Angeles wildfires last month. If approved, the hike would average a 22% increase for policyholders.

The insurance giant claims that the fires have put the company under increased financial strain. The company has already received at least 8,700 claims and paid more than $1bn to customers and expects to pay out “significantly more”, according to a press release.

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Fire chiefs warn UK is not prepared for climate crisis impacts

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National Fire Chiefs Council says ability of firefighters to respond is at risk as it calls for urgent preventive action

The UK is not prepared for the impact of climate breakdown, fire chiefs have warned, as they called on the government to take urgent action to protect communities.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said the ability of fire services to tackle weather-related emergencies was at risk, despite often being the primary frontline response to major weather events including flooding, fires caused by heatwaves, and storm-related emergencies, all of which are becoming more common.

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Dangerous temperatures could kill 50% more Europeans by 2100, study finds

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Net increase of 80,000 deaths a year projected in hottest scenario, with milder winters failing to redress balance

Dangerous temperatures could kill 50% more people in Europe by the end of the century, a study has found, with the lives lost to stronger heat projected to outnumber those saved from milder cold.

The researchers estimated an extra 8,000 people would die each year as a result of “suboptimal temperatures” even under the most optimistic scenario for cutting planet-heating pollution. The hottest plausible scenario they considered showed a net increase of 80,000 temperature-related deaths a year.

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Trump tells US government to override California water policies if necessary

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Executive order comes two days after visit to LA, which has been devastated by wildfires that burned over 35,000 acres

Donald Trump on Sunday issued an executive order directing the federal government to override the state of California’s water management practices if they are found to be ineffective.

The order comes two days after the president visited the Los Angeles region, which has been devastated by a series of wildfires that have killed at least 28 people and burned more than 35,000 acres.

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Storm Éowyn: man killed and 725,000 properties without power in Ireland

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Record gusts of 113mph recorded, with ‘unprecedented’ power cuts, fallen trees and 130,000 homes without water

A man has been killed and more than 725,000 homes and businesses have been left without power in Ireland after Storm Éowyn battered the country, leaving a trail of destruction.

More than 500,000 homes were at risk of disruption to water supplies, and boil-water notices were issued in several counties. Authorities said it would take more than a week to restore power to all premises.

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New California fire spurs evacuations as residents endure dangerous winds

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Hughes fire ignites north of Los Angeles late Wednesday morning as Eaton and Palisades fires burn for third week

Additional evacuations were ordered for residents near a large fast-moving wildfire north of Los Angeles, as parched southern California endured another round of dangerous winds ahead of possible rain over the weekend.

The Hughes fire broke out late on Wednesday morning and quickly ripped through nearly 5,000 acresof trees and brush, sending up an enormous plume of dark smoke near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 km) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.

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California wind forecast worsens as red flag fire weather warning expected on Monday

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Experts say fire weather likely to return as firefighters make progress containing wildfires and Trump plans trip to state

As firefighters in Los Angeles made progress on Sunday containing wildfires that have destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods, forecasters warned that fire weather is likely to return on Monday.

Donald Trump told NBC news he plans to travel to California to inspect the damage after his inauguration, “probably, at the end of the week”. California governor Gavin Newsom had initially invited the president-elect to visit more than a week ago, even as Trump attacked him on social media and spread misinformation about the state’s Democratic leadership response to the fires.

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Wild NSW weather expected to ease as WA’s Pilbara region braces for cyclone

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Cleanup continues in parts of NSW as tropical low threatens heavy rain between Port Hedland and Ningaloo

The skies above New South Wales are expected to clear this week, bringing relief to thousands who have been left sitting in the dark as massive storms swept the state and knocked power offline.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the NSW capital and parts of the state suggests calmer skies in the week ahead, with light winds and a chance of a thunderstorm over Sydney on Tuesday.

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Dangerous winds expected to amplify California wildfires as death toll hits 24

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Warning of ‘particularly dangerous situation’ with gusts expected as LA fire chief says: ‘We are not in the clear yet’

Firefighters battling the disastrous wildfires around Los Angeles were prepared for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames as the death toll in the tragedy has hit at least 24.

Fierce gusts known as Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into devastating infernos that leveled huge tranches of neighborhoods around America’s second-largest city, which has also been hit by drought.

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