Category Archives: Flooding

Fights broke out as top-down approach to Lismore flood response failed, inquiry told

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Locals who were trying to help rescue residents and feed evacuees clashed with NSW agencies, community witnesses say

Lismore residents have told of fights breaking out between members of the public trying to help and officials attempting to implement a failed “top-down” approach during the height of the flood emergency.

Several community witnesses at a parliamentary inquiry into catastrophic flooding in the town told MPs on Tuesday they were completely disillusioned with Resilience NSW, the new agency established in 2020 to lead disaster and emergency efforts from prevention to recovery.

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Thirty-five dead as heavy rainfall lashes north-eastern Brazil

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Downpours batter two cities on Atlantic coast in country’s fourth major flood in five months

At least 35 people have died amid heavy rainfall in north-eastern Brazil on Friday and Saturday, as downpours lashed two major cities on the Atlantic coast, in what is the South American nation’s fourth major flooding event in five months.

In the state of Pernambuco, at least 33 people had died as of Saturday afternoon, as rains caused landslides that wiped away hillside urban neighbourhoods, according to the state’s official Twitter account. Another 765 people were forced to leave their homes, at least temporarily, according to the state government.

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Queensland floods: rain easing but major flood warnings remain

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Authorities are urging Queenslanders to monitor alerts and avoid flooded roads as rivers expected to peak

Rain is easing across Queensland but major flood warnings remain in place for some parts of the south-east.

Between 200 and 300 millimetres fell across the state over the past 48 hours, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Saturday, but the rain dropped away on Friday night with only 10 to 20 millimetres falling over a six-hour period.

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South Africa’s April floods made twice as likely by climate crisis, scientists say

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Brutal heatwave in India and Pakistan also certain to have been exacerbated by global heating, scientists say

The massive and deadly floods that struck South Africa in April were made twice as likely and more intense by global heating, scientists have calculated. The research demonstrates that the climate emergency is resulting in devastation.

Catastrophic floods and landslides hit the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape on 11 April following exceptionally heavy rainfall.

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Weather tracker: deadly floods follow week of torrential rain in Australia

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Analysis: Queensland flash floods have cut off communities and killed one woman, swept away in her car

Torrential rain has been hitting eastern Australia since Monday, with rainfall totals on the north-east coast widely achieving in excess of 100mm. In Yabulu, north of Townsville, there was major flooding on Tuesday as 196mm of rain fell within 24 hours. This was not the highest total recorded, however, with 244mm of rain falling on Tuesday at Mourilyan, near Innisfail on the Cassowary Coast.

The threat of heavy rain sank south across Queensland to the south-east, reaching Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday; stations in the south-east recorded up to 100mm, with a station in Dayboro recording 161mm. A further 100-150mm of rain fell on Friday across the south-east.

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Hundreds escape flood waters in Queensland as state lashed by severe thunderstorms

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More than 700 roads cut or affected by floods with intense rainfall set to continue in region between Caboolture and Gladstone

Hundreds of Queenslanders have fled to higher ground or been rescued from flood waters with thousands on alert on Friday night as severe thunderstorms lash the state’s south-east.

Intense rainfall has hit Brisbane, Ipswich, the Lockyer valley, Darling Downs, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay-Burnett, Bundaberg and Gladstone, the result of a massive low-pressure trough.

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Evacuations as more than 500 roads cut by south-east Qld flooding – as it happened

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Queensland Fire and Emergency Services says it’s had to rescue people in low-lying areas where water has risen quickly.

QFES says most people rescued haven’t had “situational awareness” of the unfolding event or made the “decision to turn around.”

If it is flooded, forget it. We have lost far too many lives on the roads this year and in previous events.

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Canadian town in Northwest Territories told to evacuate as flooding worsens

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Breakaway ice waters caused floodwaters to surge near Hay River, with 4,000 residents at risk

All 4,000 inhabitants of a small town in Canada’s Northwest Territories have been ordered to evacuate as parts of the country struggle with some of the worst flooding in decades.

Chief April Martel of the Kátł’odeeche First Nation ordered her entire community to leave Hay River after breakaway ice sent floodwaters surging into the centre of the town on Wednesday.

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Camper found safe and well as flooding rain lashes Queensland

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Police end search for man, who was seen chasing his dog before flood waters cut off access to his campsite

A camper reported missing after chasing his dog near flood waters has been found, as heavy downpours continue to lash south-east Queensland.

Police said the 36-year-old man was reported missing from an Imbil campsite, south of Gympie, on Thursday morning, but was found safe and well on Thursday.

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South Africa’s flood-ravaged east hit by more heavy rain

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Emergency services on high alert in KwaZulu-Natal as search for victims continues, with almost 400 dead

South Africa’s flood-ravaged east has been hit by another downpour of rain, after the catastrophic storm killed nearly 400 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

Flood waters from the deadliest storm to hit the country in living memory engulfed parts of the coastal city of Durban earlier this week – tearing apart roads, sweeping away homes and those trapped inside them, and sinking heavy cargo containers.

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South Africa flooding death toll nears 400 as rescuers search for missing

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More weather warnings ahead as search continues for those hit by deadly storms in KwaZulu-Natal province

South African police, army and volunteer rescuers have widened the search for dozens still missing five days after the deadliest storm to strike the city of Durban in living memory as the death toll rose to nearly 400.

The floods, which affected nearly 41,000 people, left a trail of destruction and killed at least 395 people, said Sipho Hlomuka, the regional head of the disaster management ministry.

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South African police disperse crowd calling for aid after flooding

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‘Climate change is here,’ says President Ramaphosa after 300 died in eastern city of Durban

Police in South Africa have used stun grenades to disperse a crowd calling for more and better official aid for victims of the lethal floods earlier this week.

The demonstration on Thursday briefly blocked a major highway in the eastern city of Durban, where more than 300 people have died in flooding in recent days.

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South Africa braces for more heavy rain after floods kill hundreds

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President describes ‘catastrophe of enormous proportions’ as more than 300 people die in Durban area

South Africa is bracing for more heavy rain in districts hit by massive and lethal downpours earlier this week.

More than 300 people have died in flooding in and around the eastern coastal city of Durban in recent days. On Wednesday the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, described the flooding as a “catastrophe of enormous proportions”, directly linking it to the climate emergency.

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South Africa floods: deadliest storm on record kills over 300 people

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President Cyril Ramaphosa blames ‘catastrophic’ rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal on climate crisis

The death toll from devastating floods in and around the South African port city of Durban has risen to 306, the government said Wednesday, after roads and hillsides were washed away as homes collapsed.

The heaviest rains in 60 years pummelled Durban’s municipality, eThekwini in Zulu. According to an AFP tally, the storm is the deadliest on record in South Africa.

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Dozens of evacuation orders in place across NSW as rivers expected to reach major flood levels

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Schools closed and residents ordered to leave as torrential rain falls on Sydney and already saturated catchments

Dozens of evacuation orders have been issued for parts of south-west Sydney with the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers expected to reach major flood levels on Friday.

Water levels at the Upper Nepean River at Wallacia were tipped to exceed last month’s flood peak, while the Hawkesbury at North Richmond was expected to reach 10.5 metres by 10am, and as high as 11.8 metres at noon – just below the level seen in the devastating floods in February 2020.

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Australia news live updates: NSW flood evacuation orders; asylum seekers to be released from detention; 30 Covid deaths

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Seventeen asylum seekers expected to be released from detention; flood evacuation orders in NSW; Marise Payne meeting Nato members to discuss Ukraine; NSW records 16 Covid deaths and 22,255 new infections; Victoria records four deaths and 12,314 new infections; WA records 7,998 new infections and three deaths over past weeks; Queensland records seven deaths and 10,984 new cases. Follow all the day’s news live

The man seeking a high court challenge against federal intervention in NSW Liberal preselections has been expelled from the party.

In an escalation of the factional stoush, Matthew Camenzuli has asked the high court to prevent Scott Morrison’s hand-picked candidates from receiving Liberal endorsement on ballot papers pending the urgent case.

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More floods evacuation orders issued as Sydney exceeds annual rainfall in just over three months

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Residents in suburbs including Woronora, Bonnet Bay and Chipping Norton, near Liverpool, told to leave as Bureau of Meteorology forecasts more heavy rain

Residents in parts of Sydney’s south have been ordered to evacuate their homes on Thursday with severe storms across the eastern part of New South Wales prompted flood warnings.

State Emergency Services in NSW ordered residents in low-lying parts of Woronora and Bonnet Bay, in Sydney’s south, to evacuate the area by 11:30am on Thursday, in anticipation of worsening rain and flash flooding.

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Hundreds of thousands of fish dead after NSW floods

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Scientists find fish that could normally tolerate low oxygen levels among those killed in Richmond river

Hundreds of thousands of fish have died after recent flooding in northern New South Wales caused “severe deoxygenation” of rivers, with researchers alarmed at discovering carcasses of species that traditionally tolerate lower oxygen levels.

Scientists are still researching the full of extent of the destruction to marine life along the Richmond river, where multiple fish kill events occurred following flooding in late February and early March. The flooding led to a total lack of oxygen in a 60km stretch of the waterway, between Coraki and Ballina on the northern NSW coast.

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Uninsured flood victims can receive up to $20,000 payment under NSW scheme

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Money can be used for repairs to gas and electricity services, rebuilding, and purchase of white goods

Uninsured residents in flood-affected areas of New South Wales can apply for new cash payments, as recovery efforts continue after the state’s second major flooding event in a month.

The premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced the grants of up to $20,000 in Lismore on Monday, his first day back from parental leave.

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Australia news live updates: many Lismore buildings ‘expected to flood again’; new Russia sanctions; man’s body found in Qld flood waters

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Many buildings in Lismore are ‘expected to flood again’ as CBD ordered to evacuate; severe weather warning for large parts of NSW; foreign minister announces ‘Magnitsky-style sanctions’ targeting 39 Russians; treasurer Josh Frydenberg says election will be held ‘in a matter of weeks’; nation records 24 Covid deaths, with record high daily case numbers in Tasmania. Follow the latest updates live

The New South Wales government has approved fewer than 400 disaster relief grants for flood-ravaged northern rivers businesses, despite receiving almost 8,000 requests for help since applications opened almost a month ago.

After the state’s north was left reeling by weeks of devastating floods, the government announced grants of up to $50,000 for small businesses to help pay for cleanup costs, repairs, replace damaged stock and to lease temporary premises.

Today it’s been revealed that the unemployment rate will have a friend for the first time in 50 years. This is a remarkable achievement that belongs to 26 million Australians. We’ve avoided the scouring of the labour market so reminiscent of previous recessions in Australia in the 80s and 90s.

We now have an unemployment rate that is very, very low and we are banking that dividend, now with the cost of living.

Would you be providing that if Australians weren’t going to the polls in a matter of weeks?

We would of course be providing cost-of-living relief given the circumstances that Australia now faces. There’s higher expected inflation, indeed, it’s a global phenomenon. There’s petrol prices rising above $2 a litre and with the other challenges on Australian companies.

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