Fisherman who narrowly escaped attack north of Mackay said he had fished in the spot for decades but never seen a crocodile behave in that way
A report of a large crocodile leaping into a fisherman’s boat has triggered an investigation into possible threats to public safety and whether to relocate the animal.
A man was fishing from his tinnie at Jane Creek near St Helen’s Beach, north of Mackay, about 10am on December 31 when he saw a crocodile approaching the boat.
Continue reading...Australian federal police notified after 23-year-old woman allegedly became abusive on board a plane at Gold Coast airport
A Victorian woman allegedly assaulted airline staff at Gold Coast airport on New Year’s Eve while on board a plane bound for Melbourne.
The 23-year-old was arrested after airline staff notified the Australian federal police that a passenger was allegedly being verbally abusive on the plane, the AFP said.
Continue reading...State government says group has specialist skills and appropriate agency is chosen at federal level
The Australian defence force was not deployed after storms hit the Gold Coast because it was determined other agencies would be better suited to the clean-up task, according to the Queensland disaster coordinator.
Acting deputy commissioner, Shane Chelepy, told media on Monday afternoon that the state response to continued thunderstorms and flooding has been bolstered by 50 cleanup workers from a veteran-led not-for-profit, Disaster Relief Australia.
Continue reading...BoM forecasts heavy rain for south-east Queensland and northern NSW, while across the far north temperatures will remain in the 40s
Parts of south-east Queensland are being battered by heavy rain in a soggy start to the new year, with dangerous flooding predicted.
Intense falls in some areas could lead to life-threatening flash flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology warned on Monday afternoon.
Continue reading...Kristy Holmes always knew she could use her electric car for ‘good things’, but when storms caused a blackout, it proved life-saving
An electric vehicle owner has used her car’s emergency power system to run her 11-year-old son’s lifesaving dialysis machine and another has ridden to the rescue of his neighbours after devastating storms cut power in south-east Queensland.
When the power went down following storms and flash flooding on Christmas Day, many residents immediately felt the consequences: electric gates did not work, septic tanks began to fill, air conditioners could not run and fridges began to warm as a heatwave followed.
Continue reading...Despite a surplus of eggs at fertility clinics around the country, very few end up being donated to research or other prospective parents
The vast majority of eggs frozen by prospective mothers go unused, causing headaches for IVF clinics and preventing potentially groundbreaking research.
Scientists are decrying a wasted opportunity as thousands of frozen eggs sit unused in storage instead of being used in potentially valuable medical research.
Continue reading...Illegal use of fireworks can lead to thousands of dollars in fines and even jail. Here are the rules around the country
Hefty fines and even jail time are on the cards for those who set off illegal fireworks this New Year’s Eve.
People right across the country used to partake in the annual “cracker night” festival, setting off fireworks in their backyards, but most states and territories began banning this practice in the 1980s.
Continue reading...Several waves of thunderstorms batter state as thousands in region remain without power
Two people have been hospitalised after their vehicles were struck by lightning in two separate incidents in Queensland on Saturday, as severe thunderstorms return to the south-east of the state.
Queensland Ambulance said one man was transported to Caboolture hospital – between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast – in a stable condition after the vehicle he was travelling in was reportedly struck by lightening while on the Bruce highway at about 9.20am.
Continue reading...Conditions 8C to 12C above average across large parts of Australia’s north, with little reprieve for storm-ravaged areas
A severe heatwave is expected to affect parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia heading into the new year.
Large swathes have been put on alert, with conditions 8C to 12C above average.
Continue reading...Many homes in Jimboomba are still without power. Now temperatures are nearing 40C, and more storms are forecast
Inside an unassuming hall in Jimboomba, north-west of Queensland’s Gold Coast, Sarah Weir is offering a reprieve from the heat, cool drinks and food, wifi, and even her shoulder to cry on.
“There’s been some tears,” she says.
Continue reading...Surging consumption comes despite ‘very sleepy period’ for electricity use, energy expert says
Queensland’s electricity supplies are expected to be strained for a second day in a row as the heatwave roasting much of northern Australia lifts power demand to near-record levels.
The mercury exceeded its forecast maximum for Brisbane of 37C by early afternoon and was recently at 38.3.5C, or eight degrees above the December average, Bureau of Meteorology data showed.
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Tasmanian yacht Alive is in the box seat to take out Sydney to Hobart yacht race’s overall honours, with skipper Duncan Hine confident the 66-footer has a winning time on the board.
Hine and his crew finished the 628-nautical-mile blue water classic yesterday afternoon as clubhouse leaders on handicap time.
It’s a waiting game. We’re looking good, though. I believe we could do it again, but the reality may be different. Now we wait with bated breath to see if anyone can beat our time.
Continue reading...Some households could go without electricity into the new year as state endures high temperatures following extreme weather
Areas of Queensland affected by “unprecedented” storms now face the prospect of days without electricity amid extreme heat.
Storms and flash flooding across south-east Queensland have claimed the lives of seven people since Christmas but households have now been warned to prepare for a heatwave.
Continue reading...Arizona conspiracy theorist who was arrested in connection to Queensland terrorist attack seeking to have charges dismissed
A US conspiracy theorist linked to the Wieambilla shooters has argued he was not seriously expressing an intent for violence when he said “the devils come for us, they fucking die”, and as such should be protected by the US constitution’s first amendment.
Donald Day Jr, a conspiracy theorist in Arizona, was recently arrested by FBI agents in connection with last year’s religiously motivated terrorist attack on a remote Queensland property in Wieambilla.
Continue reading...Royal Life Saving Society chief says Australians may not be ‘as strong swimmers as we believe’ as December toll hits 22
Another person has drowned in New South Wales, adding to the rising drowning death toll that has prompted a warning from lifesavers at what is considered the deadliest time of year.
Four people were pulled from the water at Port Stephens on Wednesday afternoon, including a 33-year-old man who could not be revived and died at the scene.
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Cricket begins
Day two of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan has just started in Melbourne. You can follow the latest on our separate live blog here:
Continue reading...Two campers in Victoria and three friends on a fishing trip in Queensland among 10 lives lost as storms ravaged eastern Australia
The body of a man has been discovered in flood-affected regional Victoria, taking the death toll from storms that wreaked havoc on eastern Australia over the Christmas period to 10.
Victoria police received information on Wednesday that it was believed a man was camping with a woman who was located deceased following flash flooding in Buchan in East Gippsland on 26 December.
Continue reading...Nine-year-old girl and three men confirmed dead after boat capsized in south-east Queensland among death toll
The death toll from Australia’s Christmas storms has risen to nine, as the Gold Coast mayor warns his city is “not out of the woods”.
The people confirmed dead include a nine-year-old girl whose body was found after she was feared lost in stormwater drains in Brisbane.
Continue reading...Two women reported missing in flood waters in Gympie as Bureau of Meteorology warns of further thunderstorms on Boxing Day night
Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected to continue to batter the east coast until at least Wednesday evening, as thousands of households remained without power on Boxing Day.
Severe weather warnings have been issued for large parts of the New South Wales, Victorian and Queensland coasts, covering metropolitan areas as well as some regional areas.
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What’s causing the storms?
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology just spoke to ABC News about the severe thunderstorms hitting the east coast.
[It is] primarily driven by some warm humid air in the low levels of the atmosphere, which is partly contributed to by a ton of warm ocean temperatures off the east coast of Australia providing a lot of that warmth and humidity into the atmosphere.
We also have a big low pressure system higher up which just provides that extra energy and support which allows these thunderstorms do develop and grow, and as you say, they have been causing extensive disruptive weather over the last few days.
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