Category Archives: Flooding

Wild Christmas weather: woman killed, more than 100,000 homes without power after Queensland storms

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Boxing Day weather also predicted to be volatile across NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with more thunderstorms and rain forecast

A woman has died and more than 100,000 homes been left without power as a result of severe thunderstorms in south-east Queensland on Christmas night, with warnings of more bad weather to come on Boxing Day across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Intense storms affected all three eastern states on Monday, with more than 1,200 calls for help to state emergency services and Sydney airport recording its wettest Christmas Day on record.

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Christmas Day weather: Queenslanders brace for more storms as flood risk remains in NSW

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The Bureau of Meteorology warns of more thunderstorms and heavy rain for large parts of Australia’s east coast

Queenslanders and parts of New South Wales have been told to hunker down amid Christmas Day warnings for large hailstones, heavy rain and possible flash flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued thunderstorm warnings on Monday afternoon for parts of Queensland’s southern interior and the north of the state,

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Weather tracker: Nor’easter drenches US south-east coast

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Up to 127mm of rain falls on Florida and gusty winds and flash flooding hit parts of Georgia and South Carolina

Last weekend, a low-pressure system that had developed over the Gulf of Mexico tracked north-east across the Florida peninsula. Lashings of heavy rain and strong winds were brought to Florida during the early hours of Sunday morning, dumping up to 127mm (5in) of rain on the state in its passing.

The low-pressure system, termed a “nor’easter”, continued to track north-east, strengthening and bringing gusty winds and flash flooding to the coastal parts of the south-east US, including Georgia and South Carolina.

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Australia news live: only 54.3% of Virgin flights and 66.3% of Qantas flights on time last month, transport minister says

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‘Very disappointing results, it is no wonder that so many Australians remain fed up with our major airlines,’ Catherine King says. Follow today’s news updates live

‘Very, very clear’ renewables are the cheapest form of energy, Bowen says

Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy, including its storage and transmission costs, the energy minister told ABC RN.

Its conclusions this year are unimpeachable and very, very clear.

The cheapest form of energy is renewable energy, even including the costs that go with renewable energy around storage and transmission.

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Shock and dismay as Cyclone Jasper defies expectations to inundate far north Queensland

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It was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill category two – but flooded streets and cut-off communities show an intensity that nobody saw coming

A lifelong resident of Machans Beach, just outside Cairns, Euan Williams had seen plenty of cyclones before. Once ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper passed over the community on Wednesday last week as a category-two storm, that confirmed it. It wouldn’t amount to much.

“Being locals, a cat two’s sort of like a run of the mill cyclone,” he said.

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Cairns airport closed as Queensland premier declares ‘serious weather emergency’ amid record flood fears

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Floods exceeding 1977 levels expected, Steven Miles says, as heavy rain leaves 10,500 homes without power

Cairns airport has been closed in anticipation of record flooding in the far north Queensland city as the state premier, Steven Miles, declared a “serious weather emergency” in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

On Sunday afternoon Miles said flood levels in Cairns were expected to exceed the previous record of 1977 and there were “significant concerns” for many communities in the far north.

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Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea, Farrell says – as it happened

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Up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs prevented from reaching Australia

Australian federal police and international law enforcement partners have prevented up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs from reaching Australia throughout the past financial year.

The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 29 tonnes of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement.

On average, close to 12,000 Australians are hospitalised from methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin use every 12 months.

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Queensland girl fighting for life after being hit by lightning amid wild weather in wake of ex-Cyclone Jasper

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Major flood warnings for state’s far north as storm system moves towards Northern Territory

A 10-year-old girl is fighting for life after being struck by lightning as more wild weather descended on Queensland, causing major flooding in Cairns.

The girl was injured at a private property in Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast at 2.30pm on Saturday during severe thunderstorms due to ex-Cyclone Jasper.

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Tropical Cyclone Jasper live update tracker: category 2 storm hits North Qld, more than 14,000 homes lose power, BoM radar track map – latest

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BoM tracker map shows forecast path of category 2 cyclone will hit north of Cairns and Port Douglas on the Queensland coast at about 1pm with heavy rain, 140km/h winds and storm surge predicted. Follow the latest Australia news and weather updates today

Ceasefire ‘can’t be one-sided’

Emergency management minister Murray Watt is also speaking to ABC RN this morning, and was asked about the PM’s joint letter with his New Zealand and Canadian counterparts urging a ceasefire.

[It] shows that we want to work with like-minded countries towards what would be a just and enduring peace. I think the whole world has been pleased to see the release of hostages and the pause in hostilities that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, but what we need to do is move towards a sustainable ceasefire …

I think everyone who watches this conflict unfolds on their television screens, is really disturbed about the loss of life that we’re seeing go on at the moment.

I think that’s the value that a country like Australia can play here by really taking that even-handed approach that does call out the abhorrent behaviour by Hamas, but also as a friend of Israel, calls on them to respect international humanitarian law.

We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.

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Weather tracker: Low Mississippi River levels take toll on farmers

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Economic loss from disruption on important travel route for grain exports estimated to be $20bn

Extreme drought and a warm autumn have left water levels on the Mississippi exceptionally low for the time of year. This is causing problems for farmers who rely on the river as a travel route for the crops: 60% of US grain exports use the waterway to reach the Gulf coasts.

The total economic loss is estimated to be about $20bn and, despite attempts to dredge the river, it remains worryingly low as the country enters an important month for grain transport.

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At least 47 people killed and 85 injured by landslides in Tanzania

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Toll expected to rise after heavy rains caused flooding in Katesh in country’s north

At least 47 people have been killed and 85 others injured in landslides caused by flooding in northern Tanzania, a local official has said, with warnings the toll would rise.

Heavy rain on Saturday hit the town of Katesh, 300km (186 miles) north of the capital, Dodoma, district commissioner Janeth Mayanja said on Sunday. “Up to this evening, the death toll reached 47 and 85 injured,” Queen Sendiga, regional commissioner in the Manyara area of northern Tanzania, told local media. Both warned that the death toll was likely to increase.

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Two years after silt and mud trashed them, Northern Rivers schools rise from ruin

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Dave Lee, principal of the newly rebuilt Mullumbimby public school, vividly recalls the emotion of his first visit to assess the flood damage

“My first memories were just the silt and the mud,” says Dave Lees, summoning back his impressions from the day he returned to the Mullumbimby public school campus, the day after it was swallowed by flood waters.

“It was just a brown, smelly, clay-laden, dirty space. It looked like another planet,” the school principal says.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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East coast weather: rain, thunderstorm and flood warnings for NSW, Queensland and Victoria

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Flood rescues launched in NSW as Bureau of Meteorology warns of thunderstorm risk for ‘most of the east coast’ on Wednesday

Multiple people have been rescued from flood waters in New South Wales as rain falls across large parts of Australia, with thunderstorms expected along most of the east coast on Wednesday.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) conducted two flood rescues on Wednesday morning, rescuing two people from their car at South Nowra and another group from a home at St Georges Basin, near Jervis Bay.

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State of emergency declared in parts of France after record rainfall

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Floods force evacuation of homes, schools and town halls in Calais region and in the Alps

Widespread flooding in northern and eastern France has led to thousands of people having to evacuate their waterlogged homes, the collapse of roads and the closure of schools and public buildings.

Record rainfall has caused rivers to break their banks, forcing the government to declare an official state of emergency in hundreds of towns and villages.

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Flood protection plans for English homes cut by 40%

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Quarter of new flood defence projects will also not go ahead, NAO finds, as Environment Agency blames cuts on inflation

The number of properties that will be better protected from flooding by 2027 has been cut by 40%, and 500 of 2,000 new flood defence projects have been abandoned, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

The number of homes forecast to be under enhanced flood protection by 2027 has been slashed from 336,000 to 200,000. This means 136,000 more homes will be at risk of flooding since plans were drawn up in 2020, figures from an NAO report show.

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Climate crisis talks resume on ‘loss and damage’ funding for poorest countries

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World leaders will reconvene in Abu Dhabi before UAE’s Cop28 after talks broke down two weeks ago

Governments will meet this weekend for a last-ditch attempt to bridge deep divisions between rich and poor countries over how to get money to vulnerable people afflicted by climate disaster.

Talks over funds for “loss and damage”, which refers to the rescue and rehabilitation of countries and communities experiencing the effects of extreme weather, started in March but broke down in rancour two weeks ago.

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More than 4,000 English flood defences ‘almost useless’, analysis finds

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Exclusive: Hundreds of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ defences are in areas battered by Storm Babet, according to analysis by Unearthed

More than 4,000 of England’s vital flood defences are so damaged they are almost useless, including hundreds in areas battered by Storm Babet.

Nearly 800 critical assets – defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property – were in a “poor” or “very poor” condition in the 10 English counties worst affected by last week’s historic downpours.

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MPs call for review of Environment Agency flood failings in England

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Derbyshire and South Yorkshire MPs say agency ‘not up to the task’ after people received warnings too late

MPs in areas of England worst hit by Storm Babet have called for a review of Environment Agency (EA) failings after reporting that some residents received flood alerts only after their homes were flooded.

Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, said some people at Tapton Terrace in the Derbyshire town, where 83-year-old Maureen Gilbert was found dead in flood water, only received a phone call from the early warning system after their houses had been deluged.

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Tributes paid to three people killed on Friday during Storm Babet

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Police name Cheryl Woods, 61, and Sarha Smith, 40, from south Wales, and Peter Pelling, 61, from Scotland

Tributes have been paid to three people killed in two separate weather-related incidents on Friday at the height of Storm Babet, as new weather warnings were issued on Tuesday.

Yellow weather warnings were put in place for parts of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the south-east of England on Tuesday, with the expectation of heavy rain in some areas that are already flooded.

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