Category Archives: Flooding

Sydney on track for record annual rainfall of 2.2 metres as eastern states brace for flooding

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Flood watch alerts issued for almost 40 waterways in NSW and severe weather warning in western parts of state

Sydney is on track to set a new record for its wettest ever year, with more than two months still to go, as the city braces for another 100mm of rain over the next few days.

The soggy city has recorded 2,129mm of rain between 1 January and 4 October – just 65mm shy of the record set in 1950, when the annual total reached 2,194mm.

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Much of Australia in for heavy rain and lower than average temperatures

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BoM expects widespread falls from Top End to Tasmania with flooding risk in eastern inland areas

Large swathes of Australia are set to be drenched and shivering, with heavy falls and lower than average temperatures forecast from the country’s north to Tasmania.

The next five days will see rain from the Top End through to the eastern interior, with peak falls predicted on Wednesday, and falls continuing in large parts of NSW and southern Queensland across next weekend.

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NSW convenes first meeting of disaster taskforce ahead of more wet weather

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Task Force Hawk formed to address issues raised in an independent inquiry into floods earlier this year

Emergency agencies will brief a New South Wales government taskforce set up to improve the state’s response to disasters on Wednesday as residents brace for more wet weather in the third consecutive La Niña.

The meeting will be the first for Task Force Hawk – the newly formed permanent crisis committee of cabinet ministers and officials from the state’s emergency management agencies to learn from mistakes made during the February and March floods.

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Climate activist avoids jail over Sydney tunnel protest after court hears of flood trauma

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Mali Cooper discharged into psychologist’s care after locking themself to steering wheel of a car to block traffic

A climate activist who disrupted peak-hour traffic in central Sydney has avoided conviction after a court was told of the trauma they suffered during the Lismore floods.

Mali Poppy Cooper, who uses they pronouns, locked themself onto the steering wheel of a car on the eastern approach to the Sydney Harbour tunnel in June.

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Fresh rain warnings as BoM says flooding in NSW ‘to continue for months’

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With many catchments soaked and more rain on the way, authorities say waterways are ‘sensitive to any future rainfall’

New South Wales is bracing for another week of thunderstorms, gusty winds and renewed flooding, with authorities warning flooding in some areas is expected to continue for several months.

The wet weather was expected to return to south-western parts of the state from Monday afternoon, deepening throughout Tuesday and Wednesday as the trough moved across to the coast.

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Northern NSW towns likely to be isolated for days as floods continue – follow live

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NSW premier reports more than 60 flood rescues and says BoM and SES working around the clock

The Tasmanian government is scaling down its operation at the site where hundreds of whales were stranded on the state’s west coast.

In a statement last night, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said its staff will continue to monitor a “small number of whales” in Macquarie Harbour following the mass stranding this week.

Through extensive aerial and vessel surveillance of Macquarie Harbour we have identified a small number of whales within the harbour precinct.

A number of those are still free swimming. However, we do have a couple that are stranded in shallower waters. We currently have crews responding to those animals and we aim to free them and get them swimming out of the harbour throughout the course of the afternoon.

Given the current flooding, saturated catchments and full dams, this forecast front will likely exacerbate the current riverine flooding with multiple systems anticipated to see prolonged or renewed minor to major flooding.

With catchments wet and many dams at capacity, waterways are very sensitive to rainfall, and further river rises and renewed flooding are likely for the inland catchments.

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Five-year-old boy dies after car washed away in flood waters in NSW’s central west

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Emergency services rescued four people clinging to trees after two vehicles became trapped in floods

A five-year-old boy has died after the vehicle he was travelling in was washed away in flood waters in New South Wales’ central west.

Two vehicles became trapped in flood waters on the McGrane Way at Tullamore, north-west of Parkes on Friday night.

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Weather tracker: storms batter Alaska, Caribbean and Japan

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Hurricane causes blackout across Puerto Rico while typhoon forces 8m to flee homes in Japan

It has been very active across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in recent days with more than five storms officially named.

Hurricane Fiona in the Caribbean was the first storm of the tropical Atlantic season to strengthen into a major hurricane. Fiona made landfall on Sunday across south-western Puerto Rico, where it dumped 762mm (30in) of rain with sustained gusts of 115mph.

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Queensland and NSW brace for flash flooding as more than 20cm of rain falls in three hours

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Weather experts predict already soaked river catchments will remain flooded over coming months

Communities on the Queensland-New South Wales border are on high alert for flash flooding after more than 20cm of rain fell in three hours in some areas.

An intense weather system moved east overnight across the Gold Coast and the already soaked NSW’s northern rivers, prompting emergency text messages to be sent to some residents.

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Gunnedah residents criticise flood response as region braces for more rain

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Families in NSW Liverpool Plains say authorities did not warn everyone before recent flooding

Residents of Gunnedah on the New South Wales Liverpool Plains are appalled by the lack of preparation, warnings and response from authorities to Sunday’s Namoi River flood, as they brace for another deluge.

Julie Shields, who lives on the north-west end of Bloomfield Street, started the Gunnedah Flood Information and Support Facebook group last December, after being disappointed in the response to Gunnedah’s November 2021 flood.

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Nigeria battling worst floods in a decade with more than 300 people killed in 2022

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Floods have affected half a million people, including 100,000 displaced, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency says

Nigeria is battling its worst floods in a decade with more than 300 people killed in 2022 including at least 20 this week, as authorities said the situation is “beyond our control.”

The floods in 27 of Nigeria’s 36 states and capital city have affected half a million people, including 100,000 displaced and more than 500 injured, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said.

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Alaskans continue to grapple with fallout from typhoon-related flooding

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Rising waters brought power outages, damage and concerns over surviving the winter as downpours also affected California

Floodwaters in Alaska are receding after the remnants of a powerful typhoon pummeled the state’s western coastline. But residents are continuing to grapple with power outages, water damage and concerns about how to survive the coming winter.

This weekend, a low-pressure system spinning out from Alaska made its way down the coast to northern California, bringing rare September rain to the region. The downpours aided efforts to contain the 19 sq mile (49 sq km) Mosquito fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, but raised new concerns.

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Weather tracker: Deadly floods batter Italy’s Adriatic coast

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Ten people confirmed dead with three missing; Typhoon Nanmadol forces millions to flee homes in Japan

European countries around the Adriatic Sea were experiencing extreme flooding towards the end of last week.

The Italian region of Marche was particularly badly affected after a thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon strengthened into the night. Some areas faced more than 400mm of rain, with much of the deluge falling in a couple of hours.

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Farmers prepare to be cut off by flooding in north-west NSW

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Homes in Gunnedah inundated and residents in Wee Waa region warned to move livestock and machinery to high ground

Farmers in north-west New South Wales are preparing to be cut off after the Namoi River broke its banks, inundating rural towns and sparking several flood rescues.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for the river, including major flooding at Wee Waa and Gunnedah after the river peaked early on Sunday.

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Pakistan floods ‘made up to 50% worse by global heating’

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Study says climate crisis likely to have significantly increased rainfall and made future floods more likely

The intense rainfall that has caused devastating floods across Pakistan was made worse by global heating, which has also made future floods more likely, scientists have found.

Climate change could have increased the most intense rainfall over a short period in the worst affected areas by about 50%, according to a study by an international team of climate scientists.

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‘Localise everything’: After floods, Northern Rivers residents join forces to build disaster resilience

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In areas where some felt let down by emergency responses, community groups share skills such as how to clear landslips, operate chainsaws and preserve food

Northern Rivers residents are learning to use chainsaws, sandbag their homes and clear landslips safely as communities band together to ensure they are prepared for future natural disasters after this year’s devastating floods.

Their efforts have a new sense of urgency after the Bureau of Meteorology declared a La Niña event is under way – a weather pattern that typically elevates flood risks.

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‘We are drowning’: Pakistan floods push toxic lake over edge

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Heavy rain compounds decades-long environmental catastrophe at country’s largest freshwater lake

Maula Bakhsh Mala’s village was submerged by Lake Manchar for the third time last week. “What bad luck we have,” said the 68-year-old fisher. “When there is no water in the lake, we are starving. When there is plenty of water, we are drowning.”

Late last month, after weeks of heavy rain and flooding, Pakistan declared a state of emergency. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has described the rain as a “monsoon on steroids”. Earlier this month, satellite images showed one-third of the country has experienced severe flooding.

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UN chief views ‘unimaginable’ damage in visit to Pakistan’s flood-hit areas

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António Guterres calls for ‘massive financial support’ in wake of disaster that has killed at least 1,391 people

The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, has visited several areas of Pakistan ravaged by floods, as he rounded off a two-day trip aimed at raising awareness of the disaster.

Record monsoon rains and glacier melt in the country’s northern mountains have triggered floods that have killed at least 1,391 people, sweeping away houses, roads, railway tracks, bridges, livestock and crops.

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UN chief appeals for ‘massive’ help as flood-hit Pakistan puts losses at $30bn

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Countries most responsible for climate crisis must ‘end war with nature’, says António Guterres

The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has said the world owes impoverished Pakistan “massive” help in recovering from the summer’s devastating floods because the country bears less blame than many others for the climate crisis.

Months of heavy monsoon rains and flooding have killed 1,391 people and affected 33 million while half a million people have become homeless. Planeloads of aid from the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other countries have begun arriving, but Guterres said there is more to be done to help a country which contributes less than 1% of global emissions.

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Pakistan’s biggest lake may burst banks after draining attempts fail

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Lake Manchar on verge of causing more flooding, says local official, as third of country already underwater

Pakistan’s biggest lake is on the verge of bursting its banks after attempts by authorities to drain it in a controlled way failed, a senior local official has warned.

In a last-ditch effort to avoid a catastrophe, officials breached Lake Manchar on Sunday, a move they acknowledged could displace up to 100,000 people from their homes but would also save densely populated areas from floods.

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