Category Archives: Extreme weather

Australia news live updates: Queensland flood waters rising; tributes roll after death of Jim Molan

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Rising flood waters have cut north Queensland’s main transport corridor, the Bruce Highway, with more rain on the way. Follow the day’s news live

Dreyfus opens discussion about judicial watchdog

Today the attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, will open consultation for the creation of a federal judicial commission, to police what he described as the “relatively rare” instances of “problematic conduct by judges”.

The three diseases that we’re focusing on on this trip – malaria, HIV and tuberculosis – three diseases that Australia has a good control over or good management over.

HIV cases are on the rise for a range of different reasons. Tuberculosis is just devastating and any young child with tuberculosis is an extremely confronting and devastating thing to see it’s a horrible disease. And malaria is an ongoing killer.

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Town where Martin Luther King Jr made historic march reels from tornado

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Residents of Selma, Alabama, find resilience in civil rights leader’s legacy as US marks MLK Day

As the US marked Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday, the town of Selma, Alabama, that hosted his historic 1965 march was still reeling from a tornado that destroyed buildings, swept away roofs and tossed around mobile homes.

Thursday’s twister in Selma was categorized as EF-2, indicating “significant”, and about 40 miles away in Autauga county, where it claimed seven lives – including four from the same family – it was EF-3 or “severe”.

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Biden approves disaster funding after Alabama and Georgia tornadoes

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At least nine people died as survivors tell of hiding in bathtubs and containers as ferocious storms bore down on homes

Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Alabama on Sunday, after at least nine people died in tornadoes that destroyed homes and knocked out power to tens of thousands in south-eastern US states this week.

The president ordered federal aid to supplement regional recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, winds and tornadoes on 12 January, a White House statement said.

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California storms: Biden declares major disaster as more flooding forecast

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Death toll at 19 after prolonged spell of rain and snow caused by atmospheric rivers set to continue until Tuesday

Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in California following devastating winter storms leading to flooding and mudslides and the deaths of at least 19 people.

On Saturday, Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by storms since late December.

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Bushfire in Adelaide Hills; PM says ‘we’ve got the balance right’ on climate policy changes – as it happened

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Firefighters prepared for a long night battling an out-of-control blaze near Montacute in the Adelaide Hills. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has responded to the admission of the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, that he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party.

At a press conference just finished in Townsville, Albanese said had been in PNG but had seen the statements from the NSW premier.

I have observed his statements. That’s a matter for him, and then for others who’ll make judgments based upon the premier’s explanation.

These banknotes were sent to our Majura Forensic Facility to undergo specialist fingerprint development in a purpose built machine.

This is an extremely powerful and sensitive process where precious metals such as gold can actually enhance the fingerprints of individuals that have touched the exhibits, such as banknotes.

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Flood-hit Murray River caravan parks miss out on vital holiday tourism as clean-up continues

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Piles of rubbish fill the space normally taken by summer visitors, with businesses facing the loss of a season’s earnings

Caravan parks and more than 100 national parks remain closed across New South Wales and Victoria after widespread flooding damaged infrastructure, filled waterholes with debris and made some areas unsafe for swimming.

The summer holidays would usually be the busiest time of year for the McLean Beach holiday park in Deniliquin, in the NSW Riverina region.

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News live updates: Albanese flags Australian interest in Papua New Guinea hydro and hydrogen; NSW and Victoria rule out Pell state funeral

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Victorian premier says there will not be a state service for cardinal, out of respect for victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Follow live

Visa processing problems in spotlight

Pat Conroy acknowledged ongoing visa processing issues and said the government was “hopeful that we can get a resolution on that issue”:

People in Papua New Guinea are also very keen on our Pacific engagement visa, which is about creating 3,000 permanent migration spots each year into Australia … and there’s also lots of interest in Papua New Guineans working, studying in Australia as well.

His message around democracies is that [it is] incumbent upon politicians in both countries [to] defend democracy and we defend democracy by demonstrating it’s the best system to deliver actual benefits for the people that we govern. So that’s about investing in stronger health outcomes, lifting stronger economic outcomes.

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Storm-ravaged California scrambles as fresh atmospheric river rolls in

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Newest round of storms expected to produce torrential downpours and gale force winds along the northern coast

California is facing a new round of brutal storms that will bring torrential downpours and gale force winds in the north as the state scrambles to clean up and repair widespread damage amid a break in the weather.

The state has been ravaged by a relentless string of storms that have killed at least 17 people – a number the governor warned was likely to grow. The bout of extreme weather has closed highways, knocked out trees and infrastructure and cut power to thousands of people. More than half of California’s 58 counties have been declared disaster areas.

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‘It’s horrifying’: storm deaths of unhoused people highlight California crises

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Fatalities call attention to the grave risks posed by extreme weather to those living outside in Sacramento

California’s devastating winter storms have killed at least two unhoused people, deaths that call attention to the grave risks extreme weather poses to more than 116,000 people living outdoors in the state.

Both deaths occurred in Sacramento, which endured winds of 60mph (96.5km/h) over the weekend and saw thousands of people lose power. Rebekah Rohde, 40, died after a falling tree crashed into her tent along the American River on Saturday. Steven Sorensen, 61, died on Sunday when a tree fell on his tent next to a light rail station.

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Banks and countries pledge $10bn to rebuild Pakistan after catastrophic floods

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International funders join Pakistan PM and UN secretary general in Geneva to agree recovery plan following ‘monsoon on steroids’

The international community has promised $10.5bn (£8.77bn) to help Pakistan rebuild after last summer’s catastrophic floods, described by UN secretary general António Guterres as a “monsoon on steroids.”

The pledges were made on Monday at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by Pakistan’s prime minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Guterres.

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Engineers to assess flood-damaged bridges on key WA route amid concerns some could take years to fix

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Fitzroy River Bridge among those apparently collapsed after record flooding in state’s north destroys roads and isolates communities

Engineers will assess the destruction of major bridges on the trucking route connecting Western Australia and the Northern Territory on Wednesday amid concerns key infrastructure could could take months, or even years, to fix.

Main Roads WA and structural engineers will assess the Fitzroy River Bridge on the Great Northern Highway, as photos and videos emerge showing that the bridge has collapsed after being hit with record floods.

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Western Australia’s ‘worst’ flood reveals vulnerability of supply chains as 100 residents airlifted out

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Experts call for a multidisciplinary approach, with climate-related disasters to continue disrupting freight delivery

Western Australia’s “worst ever” flood has further highlighted the vulnerability of Australia’s supply chains, experts say.

On Saturday, record levels of water were pouring down the Fitzroy River, which had created a 50km-wide inland sea. The water across the Kimberley region had shut down parts of the crucial Great Northern Highway, damaged the bridge at Fitzroy Crossing and inundated the airstrip. And 105 people had been relocated from the region, with more expected to be airlifted out in the coming days.

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Floods force road trains supplying Kimberley to detour extra 7,400km via SA and NT

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Trucks normally travel direct from Perth to Fitzroy Crossing but new return trip halfway across Australia is ‘equal to a one-way trip from Paris to Vladivostok’

Triple road trains delivering essential supplies to Western Australia’s flood-stricken Kimberley communities face week-long 12,000km return trips from Perth as they are forced to detour halfway across the country due to washed-out roads and bridges.

Instead of travelling directly from Perth to the Kimberley region – a 4,600km return trip – trucks will be forced east to Port Augusta in South Australia, before travelling the length of Australia to Katherine in the Northern Territory, then heading back west to WA.

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Two dead as ‘bomb cyclone’ brings heavy winds and rain to California

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Officials order evacuations in high-risk coastal area in latest in rapid series of ‘atmospheric rivers’ to hit state

It has been a deadly and destructive start to the year in California, as a series of severe storms slammed the state this week, toppling trees, submerging streets and sending water cascading into homes and businesses.

The latest storm hit hard on Thursday – a powerful “atmospheric river” that brought with it hurricane-force winds and torrents of rain. At least two deaths have been reported in connection with the latest storm, including a child whose home was hit by a falling tree in Sonoma county. By Thursday morning, more than 163,500 people were without power, with little reprieve in sight.

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Broome isolated by WA floods which could cut off remote Indigenous communities for weeks

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Ex-tropical Cyclone Ellie brings once-in-a-century flooding, forcing evacuations and road closures

Towns are cut off and residents have been evacuated in military planes during “the worst flooding Western Australia has ever seen”.

Authorities are working to let remote Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley region know of the danger, to relocate those who want to leave and deliver critical supplies. Derby, Broome and Noonkanbah have already been isolated.

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Lifesavers rescue 1,200 over holiday period in Australia – as it happened

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‘Challenging night’ for WA fire crews in south-west

Earlier today, Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Peter Thomas said it had been a “challenging night” for fire crews in the south-west, as bushfires threaten the region.

So our volunteers from the Donnybrook area across the south-west [who have] come to deal with this incident.

We’ve had some strong winds that have been coming consistently from the east, but been fairly strong and making it challenging for our crews.

When we allow sportspeople from Russia to participate in the Australian Open, we do exactly what Putin wants.

It doesn’t matter what flag Russian Federation players compete under. It has Ukrainian blood on it.

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Fears for remote WA towns as Fitzroy River records one of highest flow rates in Australia

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Amount of water surging down river in one day equivalent to what Perth uses in 20 years, Bureau of Meteorology says

Kimberley residents are worried they could run out of food and fuel as a once-in-a-century flood isolates remote towns in Western Australia’s far north, with authorities saying the Fitzroy River is experiencing “one of the highest flow rates ever seen” in Australia.

Fitzroy Crossing, Broome and other towns were expected to be cut off as the waters rose.

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‘Extreme event’: warm January weather breaks records across Europe

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At least eight countries experience record high temperatures of ‘almost unheard of’ heat, say meteorologists

Weather records have been falling across Europe at a disconcerting rate in the last few days, say meteorologists.

The warmest January day ever was recorded in at least eight European countries including Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, according to data collated by Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks extreme temperatures.

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Philippines searches for survivors after dozens killed in floods and landslides

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Rain-induced floods and landslides unlike previous disasters in the country, which are typically triggered by severe typhoons

Rescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced to try to locate 26 people missing after weekend rains, floods and landslides that have killed at least 25 people, in one of its deadliest weather events this year.

The national disaster agency on Wednesday said casualties reported so far had increased to 25 from 17 the previous day, with most deaths caused by drowning from flash floods.

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Biggest climate toll in year of ‘devastating’ disasters revealed

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Most expensive storm cost $100bn while deadliest floods killed 1,700 and displaced 7 million, report finds

The 10 most expensive storms, floods and droughts in 2022 each cost at least $3bn (£2.5bn) in a “devastating” year on the frontline of the climate crisis, a report shows.

Christian Aid has highlighted the worst climate-related disasters of the year asmore intense storms, heavy downpours and droughts are driven by rising global temperatures as a result of human activity.

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