Category Archives: Australia weather

Cyclone Kirrily set to cause flooding in north Queensland as BoM warns of ‘widespread, severe’ impacts

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Cyclone expected to make landfall as severe category-three system as cyclonic winds, flooding rain and tides among weather forecast in Queensland

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is considered “most likely” to make landfall as a severe category-three system, causing flooding in large north Queensland cities such as Townsville and Rockhampton.

Queensland emergency services are planning to respond to two disasters: cyclonic winds, followed by flooding rain and tides, according to authorities.

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Cyclone Kirrily expected to hit north Queensland on Thursday as residents urged to stock up on supplies

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Bureau of Meteorology forecasts category three storm to make landfall near Townsville, warns of damaging winds and heavy rainfall

Queenslanders are being urged to stock up on 72 hours of supplies as a “severe” cyclone begins to swing towards the state’s coast.

A cyclone watch has been issued for communities across north Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting that tropical Cyclone Kirrily will make landfall near Townsville as a category three storm on Thursday.

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Weather warning for north Queensland – as it happened

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‘No plans to change’ Australia Day, minister says

Speaking on the Today show, Amanda Rishworth is asked about a decision by Cricket Australia to scrap the term Australia Day at the Brisbane Test match this Friday.

We have absolutely no plans to change that. The prime minister has said that on a number of occasions.

I think it is important that we do, though, acknowledge that Australia Day for some people is a difficult day. For others, it’s a day that is the day they became an Australian citizen and that’s really important to them.

This is something you’ve been aware of for several months, in fact, perhaps longer than that. So, why fly to Canberra now?

This year will be a year of delivery. And so at the beginning of the year, it’s not uncommon for political parties to get together. I would suggest that the opposition, from time to time, has flown people to all one place. So, it is a bit two-faced to be criticising the Labor party here. But it will be an important meeting, as will this year be of us continuing to deliver help for Australians.

We don’t have parliament by Zoom. We don’t have a number of political meetings, committee meetings by Zoom. They are done in person. It is important that MPs do get together and actually put their views forward.

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Australia not prepared for how Antarctic ice changes will hit economy, scientist warns

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Exclusive: Prof Matt King says accelerated melting could transform country and affect viability of some agricultural industries

A leading Antarctic scientist has urged the Albanese government to pay closer attention to abrupt changes under way in the southern continent, warning they will affect Australians in ways that are little understood and research into them is drastically underfunded.

The head of the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Prof Matt King, said he found it embarrassing how little was known about the local and global ramifications of changes including a historic drop in floating sea ice cover, the accelerating melting of giant ice sheets and the slowing of a deep ocean current known as the Southern Ocean overturning circulation.

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

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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

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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

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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’

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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