Heatwave scorches states from east to west as temperatures soar across Australia

Heat warnings have been issued to residents in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia about rising temperatures this weekend

A withering heatwave has spread across three states with temperatures in parts of northern Western Australia reaching towards 50C, and the goldmining town of Kalgoorlie still without power after a rare super-cell storm.

Heat warnings have been issued to residents in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia about rising temperatures on Sunday, with the Pilbara in northern WA a hotspot.

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Storms and wet weather forecast for northern Australia with Cyclone Kirrily expected to develop off Queensland

Heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding forecast across Kimberley, Northern Territory and much of Cape York peninsula

Northern Australia is battening down the hatches as the Bureau of Meteorology warns intensifying activity in the Coral Sea is likely to result in the formation of Cyclone Kirrily.

While the low-pressure system won’t be officially named until it is properly formed, the bureau expects the cyclone to develop off the Queensland coast by Monday.

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Flood warnings prompt evacuations in NT as Queensland braces for incoming cyclone

Bom says it’s still ‘too early to say’ how strong a potential cyclone may be and when it could reach land

Far north Queensland is bracing for a second natural disaster in about a month while flooding has forced people to flee their homes in the Northern Territory.

Meanwhile, a swathe of Western Australia is enduring temperatures approaching 50C.

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BoM forecasts category three storm – as it happened

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Victoria police recover over $600,000 worth of drugs in raids

A man has had to let go of his prized Lego collection yesterday after police seized more than $600,000 worth of 1,4-Butanediol – a chemical that mirrors the drug GHB when ingested.

34kg of iodine – a precursor to methylamphetamine.

32kg of hypophosphorus acid – a precursor to methylamphetamine.

Illegal steroids.

Methylamphetamine.

A handgun.

An extendable baton.

Ammunition.

Three digital devices.

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Queensland cyclone warning: premier urges residents on parts of coast to prepare for potential ‘severe impact’

Storm brewing in the Coral Sea could develop into a cyclone and hit the coast mid-next week, BoM weather update says

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, has urged residents of parts of the state to be prepared for an incoming cyclone, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of a potential “severe impact” if it hits the coast mid-next week.

On Friday morning, the BoM forecast that there was a 55% chance a storm brewing in the Coral Sea would develop into a tropical cyclone to be named Kirrily by late Sunday, rising to 75% on Monday. It could become a category three system or even stronger before hitting land.

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Thousands of Western Australian households left without power after wild storm

Heavy rain and winds hit central wheat belt, goldfields, south coastal and great southern districts shortly after BoM severe weather warning, leading to widespread power outage

About 15,000 households are without power in the south-western region of Western Australia after a thunderstorm tore through the area.

Western Power confirmed the number of homes without power had dropped from the 23,000 reported on Wednesday evening, but could not give a timeframe for power restoration.

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Data shows ‘collapse’ in full-time roles – as it happened

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Pat Conroy says Ukraine-requested helicopters are not cleared for flight

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is speaking to ABC RN about a request from Ukraine to receive Australia’s retired fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. The helicopters were retired earlier than planned after a crash in Queensland killed four Defence personnel during a training exercise last year:

Anyone who suggests that these aircraft have been cleared is wrong and they are making, quite frankly, really offensive suggestions at a time when people are really grieving.

I think it’s really important that those investigations keep working to establish the cause of that accident. These aircraft are [not in] flying condition, and we still do not know whether they’re safe to fly.

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Threat of another cyclone looms for Queensland as heavy rain continues across Australia’s north

Damaging weather and heavy rain pummels Darwin as BoM forecasts another cyclone could cross Queensland’s east coast from Tuesday

Queensland residents face the threat of another cyclone reaching their shores within days as intense rain continues across Australia’s north.

A tropical low building in the Coral Sea is expected to turn towards the coast from Sunday, with the system most likely becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday.

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Seven rescued from capsized boat near Lady Elliot Island as monsoon brings flooding to north Queensland

Boat occupants on a surfing trip found clinging to the hull as more than 110mm of rain falls over the outskirts of Cairns in 24 hours

Seven seafarers are lucky to be alive after their boat capsized in rough seas as monsoonal weather brought flooding to rivers across Queensland.

Heavy rain persisted across the state’s drenched far north on Sunday as towns near the Victorian-New South Wales border faced their own flooding concerns.

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Perth bushfires: lives and homes under threat as heatwave worsens blazes near Chittering

Fire breaks out at RAAF base as firefighters battle four significant blazes in the Wanneroo and Chittering areas

A potentially dangerous fire has broken out at an RAAF base as soaring temperatures and windy conditions cause havoc for firefighters north of Perth.

The blaze broke out on Saturday afternoon near the entrance to RAAF base Gingin, a facility primarily used for pilot training, as large parts of the state faced heatwave warnings.

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Murray Watt says compounding weather events the ‘new reality’; girl hospitalised in K’gari dingo attack – as it happened

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Melbourne: two suspected arson attacks could be linked to crime group conflicts, investigators say

Two suspected arson attacks that destroyed a Melbourne tobacco shop destroyed by fire could be linked to ongoing violent conflict between crime groups, investigators say, AAP reports.

In Spain, improved public understanding of the dangers of heatwaves, coupled with a national heatwave plan, has helped save lives. We should consider adopting a framework for alerts and communications here that builds on Seville’s heatwave naming approach.

Heatwaves have killed more people in Australia than any other natural disaster since 1900, and without sustained and ambitious policies to improve our resilience to extreme heat the challenge will get even harder.

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Queensland weather: flood-affected far north could be battered with more heavy rain as monsoon approaches

BoM forecasts show communities hit hard by recent floods may see more wild weather and flash flooding in coming days

Residents of far north Queensland still recovering from the devastation wreaked by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper could be hit by more heavy rain from a monsoon trough over coming days, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.

There is a chance the monsoon trough may develop over the Gulf of Carpentaria by Thursday, bringing with it thunderstorms and potential flooding to the east coast and north Queensland, according to the BoM.

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NSW police say man they shot dead outside medical clinic was armed – as it happened

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Victoria floods: affected communities urged to prepare up to three days of supplies

A watch and act alert is in place along the Goulburn River from Murchison and Shepparton to south of Lake Eildon.

We’re not expecting the levels of October 2022 which is pleasing, but there will still be a significant amount of water around and we’re asking community to be really vigilant and have that awareness of what’s happening.

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Woman rescued after car swept into swollen Bendigo Creek as floods peak in Victoria

Man jumped into rushing flood waters and tied 74-year-old woman to a tree after she was swept 100 metres downstream

A man jumped into rushing flood waters to save a woman swept away into Bendigo Creek, risking his own life to secure her with ratchet straps to a tree, as Victorian towns braced for more flood damage.

The rescue came amid flash flooding across parts of the state, which emergency services on Tuesday afternoon said was easing. However, flooding along several rivers continued, with 20 properties in and around Seymour affected by the deluge.

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Labor ‘not giving up’ on republic push – as it happened

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Liberal senate leader and shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham says a reported bomb threat against a person flying the Palestinian flag in Botany “has no place in our nation”.

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

Australia is a democratic nation of free speech. Whether driven by disagreement, intolerance or Islamophobia this act has no place in our nation.

Whatever anyone’s views about flying the Palestinian flag at this time, this is illegal and reprehensible behaviour to be condemned.

ENOUGH! TAKE DOWN FLAG! ONE CHANCE!!!

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Victoria weather: warnings of further rain amid evacuations and dozens of flood rescues

Parts of Seymour and Yea subject to evacuation orders as BoM forecasts more intense rain and wild weather

Residents in north-eastern Victoria are bracing for further flooding in the coming days, after heavy rainfall inundated the state and forced two towns to evacuate.

An evacuation order was issued for parts of the Goulburn Valley town of Seymour, in central Victoria, shortly before noon on Monday, before similar orders were put in place for sections of nearby Yea.

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Hundreds call for help in Victoria and SA amid heavy rain and severe storms

‘The amount of moisture across Victoria at the moment is incredible,’ the Bureau of Meteorology says

Hundreds of people across Victoria and South Australia have called for help after heavy rain and severe storms lashed the two states.

Residents in Victoria’s north and north-east were warned to expect rainfall totals up to 200mm when thunderstorms sweep across the state on Sunday and Monday.

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Two people taken to hospital after being struck by lightning in storm-hit NSW Blue Mountains

Pair taken by ambulance to Katoomba hospital after emergency at Echo Point amid storm chaos

Two people have been taken to hospital after being struck by lightning while visiting a popular scenic site in the New South Wales Blue Mountains.

Other visitors were forced to seek shelter from a major storm while rescue crews searched several walking tracks in the area looking for stranded bushwalkers.

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East coast weather: Victoria and NSW brace for heavy rain as more storms forecast for Queensland

Dozens rescued from flood waters and thousands remain without power as BoM warns of wild weather in Melbourne, south-east NSW and Queensland

The first week of 2024 is off to a wild start, with storms continuing to lash Australia’s east coast and a heatwave baking the north of the continent.

Thunderstorms were headed for central Victoria on Wednesday and were forecast to become widespread over the eastern half of the state.

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Victoria weather: thousands lose power as wild thunderstorm sweeps state

Heavy rain, strong winds and large hailstones reported in parts of state as BoM warns of potential life-threatening flash flooding

More than 40,000 Victorian homes and businesses were without power and some would remain in the dark overnight as wild thunderstorms swept across the state, causing flight delays at Melbourne airport.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued on Tuesday afternoon for Bendigo, Maryborough, Castlemaine, Kyneton, Ballarat, Bellarine Peninsula and greater Melbourne.

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