Category Archives: Natural Disasters

Victoria fires and storms destroy at least 60 homes as prolonged power outage payments announced

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Number of homes lost set to rise as premier Jacinta Allan announces payments for thousands expected to be without power for more than a week

Victoria’s premier says storms and bushfires have claimed at least 60 properties and has announced payments for thousands of people expected to be without power for more than a week.

Speaking in Miraboo North in South Gippsland on Friday afternoon, Jacinta Allan said 16 homes in the area had been left “uninhabitable” after Tuesday’s storms.

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Iceland volcano erupts for second time this year with lava close to power plant

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Eruption in Reykjanes peninsula disrupts hot water supply for 20,000 people as lava edges closer to Svartsengi power plant

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the second time this year and the third time since December, pumping lava up to 80 metres (260ft) into the air and disrupting life in the Reykjanes peninsula in the south-west of the country.

Fountains of bright orange molten rock spewed from cracks in the ground and lava crossed a road near the Blue Lagoon, a luxury geothermal spa, which had closed on Thursday.

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‘No one can bring back what we lost’: fears rise among poor in Turkish city ravaged by earthquakes

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Less well-off residents in the southern city of Antakya feel left out of the city’s rebuilding efforts

• Read more: A year in the aftermath of Turkey’s earthquake – a photo essay

Rows of bright white marble gravestones dot a hillside on the outskirts of Antakya, some bearing the words “martyr of the earthquake”. The final resting place for the city’s dead will soon be overshadowed by tower blocks for those who survived. Bright yellow cranes jut into the skyline on the next hillside, slowly birthing a cluster of concrete skeletons, new government housing for some of the hundreds of thousands who lost their homes when deadly earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria last February.

“No one can bring back what was lost, as we lost everything,” said İsa Akbaba, who lost seven members of his extended family along with his home.

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‘Disturbing’ findings of NSW evacuation centre violence and sexual assaults triggers safety protocols review

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University of Newcastle research has found some women in emergency shelters during the devastating Lismore floods reported sexual assaults and violence

Safety protocols at mass evacuation centres will be investigated after researchers found women had been subjected to violence and sexual assaults in the immediate aftermath of the devastating northern rivers floods of 2022.

The review by the Department of Communities and Justice and the New South Wales police is slated to begin later this year and will consider the role of police officers and triaging, as recommended by University of Newcastle researchers.

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‘This town might be over’: Grindavík residents face uncertain future after volcano erupts again

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The 3,800 inhabitants of south-western Icelandic town fear they may never be able to return home

Residents of the Icelandic town of Grindavík fear they may not be able to return to their homes after volcanic lava destroyed several houses and damaged water and electricity supplies.

The Fagradalsfjall volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday morning, hours after the authorities had instructed residents to leave the fishing town in the south-west of the island after a “swarm” of mini-earthquakes suggested an eruption was imminent.

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‘I can’t promise you more state aid,’ German minister tells farmers – as it happened

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Finance minister Christian Lindner met with jeers as he says he cannot promise more money at demonstration in Berlin

How have you been affected?

If you’ve been affected by the eruption in Iceland, we would like to hear from you. Have you been evacuated? Where are you now and what is your situation? Where are you staying? How did you feel about leaving your home? What damage has your town suffered and what are your concerns?

Farmers are demonstrating in Berlin today after a week of nationwide protests over planned cuts to agricultural sector subsidies.

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Houses set alight as lava from volcano eruption reaches Icelandic town

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Seismic activity intensified overnight near Grindavík, the fifth eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in two years

Houses have caught fire in the fishing town of Grindavík in south-west Iceland after a volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month.

Two fissures formed near the town on Sunday after an increase in seismic activity that prompted authorities to evacuate the community the day before.

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PM flags consideration of dedicated force for natural disaster responses amid climate crisis

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On recent floods in Victoria and Queensland, Albanese said Australian defence force was a vital asset but that future recovery mitigation may need a re-think

Anthony Albanese and the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, say a re-think of disaster recovery and flood mitigation may be needed due to climate change, with at least 26 homes inundated in the state’s flooding.

Across Victoria, 61 emergency warnings remained in place on Tuesday afternoon as Mooroopna and Shepparton, in the state’s north, brace for high and moderate flooding in the coming days.

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Woman in 90s pulled alive from rubble five days after Japan earthquake

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Boy, five, among 126 people dead, after boiling water spilled on him during Monday’s 7.6 magnitude quake

A woman in her 90s has been pulled alive from a collapsed house in western Japan, 124 hours after a major earthquake hit the region, killing at least 126 people, toppling buildings and setting off landslides.

The woman in Suzu city, Ishikawa prefecture, survived for more than five days after the 7.6 magnitude quake on Monday. Nationally broadcast news footage showed helmeted rescue workers covering the view of the area with blue plastic, and the woman was not visible.

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China earthquake: death toll rises to 134 as freezing weather hinders rescue efforts

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Temperatures are as low as -16C in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, where the magnitude-6.2 quake struck on Monday

The death toll from China’s earthquake has risen to 134, with almost 1,000 people injured, as rescuers dig through rubble in below freezing conditions.

The magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, in Jishishan county near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, destroying or damaging more than 150,000 homes, according to state media. The quake, which was followed by several strong aftershocks, caused mud and landslides, and damaged power lines and other local infrastructure “to varying degrees”.

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China earthquake: rescue efforts hampered by cold weather

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Officials say at least 126 killed and more than 500 injured after 6.2-magnitude quake in Gansu and Qinghai provinces

Cold weather is hampering rescue efforts after an earthquake in China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces that killed at least 126 people and injured more than 500.

The strong shallow earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, sending residents fleeing outside into below-freezing temperatures. Thousands of houses have been reported damaged, and state media said public infrastructure had been damaged “to varying degrees”.

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India unveils ‘flatpack’ field hospital with mini x-ray for use in disaster zones

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The portable unit, comprising mini cubes of medical equipment, enables surgeons to be operating within an hour, designers claim

India has designed and built a “flatpack” field hospital that can be flown to a disaster area by helicopter and assembled faster than an Ikea bookcase.

The hospital is contained in 72 small waterproof cubes, each weighing under 15kg and measuring 38cm x 38cm x 38cm (15 x 15 x 15in). They are packed with tents and specially designed medical equipment.

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Victims of deadly landslide in Alaska include five members of same family

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The Heller family was at home when the rockslide buried their home on Friday; neighbor Otto Florschutz was also killed

The deadly landslide in south-east Alaska early this week killed five family members and their neighbor, a commercial fisher who made a longshot bid for the state’s lone seat in the US House last year, authorities said on Friday.

Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36 – plus their children Mara, 16; Derek, 12; and Kara, 11 – were at home on Monday night when the landslide struck near the island community of Wrangell. Search crews found the bodies of the parents and the oldest child late on Monday or early Tuesday; the younger children remain missing, as does neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, the Alaska public safety department said in a statement that identified the victims of the disaster.

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Philippines earthquake: authorities report deaths from falling debris

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Shopping mall ceiling collapse among reported damage after earthquake of 6.7 magnitude hits Mindanao region

The death toll from a strong earthquake off the southern Philippines rose to five on Saturday as authorities reported more casualties across two provinces.

The 6.7-magnitude quake that struck the Mindanao region mid-afternoon on Friday caused part of a shopping mall ceiling to collapse, triggered power cuts and sent people fleeing into the streets.

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‘The children screamed for hours’: horrors of Hurricane Otis leave devastation for Acapulco’s poorest

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Mexico’s Pacific coast was battered by 165mph winds and torrential rain on 25 October. Thousands lost their homes and many now have too little food or water to survive

In the small hours of Wednesday 25 October, Josefina Maldonado, a grandmother of two in her 60s who lives in the Renacimiento district of Acapulco, watched as the corrugated metal roof of her home flew into the sky, ripped off by 165mph (270km/h) winds. The family home and everything and everyone in it, including two terrified small children, were prey to the torrential rain and the horrors of the hurricane. Most of the furniture, including the beds, was swept away.

“It wasn’t that the wind or the water was stronger. Both were working together,” Maldonado says. “We were up all night trying to save what we could, and the children screamed and cried for hours.”

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Qld fires: state will ‘continue to burn’ without rain, as dozens of bushfires flare up across Queensland

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Rural firefighters’ chief says Queensland in ‘survival mode’ amid dry weather, with 53 homes destroyed by fire in the Western Downs

Queensland is in “survival mode” as dozens of bushfires burn across the state and there is no rain on the horizon, the head of the volunteer firefighters association has said.

Firefighters have contained a bushfire at Tara, on the Western Downs four hours west of Brisbane, that destroyed 53 homes and claimed two lives. But fires have flared up to the north and south, with emergency warnings in place on Wednesday for a fire between Warwick and Stanthorpe on the Southern Downs.

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Asio boss says violent protesters will receive ‘full force of my agency’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

While speaking to ABC RN, Chris Bowen was asked if he is concerned about ongoing social cohesion within his electorate amid the Israel-Hamas war. (Bowen is the MP for McMahon, located in Sydney’s outer western suburbs, which has a high percentage of Australians with Muslim ancestry.)

Bowen responded:

It’s important, in this very difficult time in the Middle East, to know that you can believe in the legitimate aspirations and rights of the Palestinian people without exonerating in any sense the heinous acts of Hamas.

You can also believe in the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself [while] expressing concern about the loss of innocent life of Palestinians who do not support Hamas and had nothing to do with Hamas.

I have been concerned by the politicisation of this issue … demanding stronger statements and stronger actions when really, I think the prime minister, the foreign minister and the government have set a very important and considered tone and I think it’s vital that the community hears that tone.

And of course … there is absolutely no place in modern Australia for antisemitism or Islamophobia. Both should be equally condemned. And in an environment like this, it’s particularly important to do so.

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Afghanistan earthquake has killed more than 2,000, Taliban say

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Magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Herat on Saturday, with hundreds of houses reported destroyed

The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan has risen sharply to more than 2,000 people, according to a Taliban spokesperson, as rescuers searched for survivors among the ruins of razed villages.

“More than 2,060 people are dead and over 10,000 are injured,” he told the Guardian. “Many more people are still under the rubble.”

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‘The least we can do is care for their children’: Libyans rally to protect Derna’s orphans

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Hundreds of traumatised children are thought to have lost their families in disaster

People in western Libya have rallied round to provide care and breastmilk for young children orphaned by the devastating floods that hit the coastal city of Derna on 10 September.

Hundreds of traumatised babies and young children are thought to have lost their parents in Derna, where whole neighbourhoods were wiped out after two dams broke.

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Libya floods: warlord using disaster response to exert control, say observers

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Khalifa Haftar and Libyan National Army militia said to be overseeing humanitarian relief arriving in city of Derna

As search and rescue teams continue to hunt for bodies trapped underneath the mud and rubble of their homes in the Libyan coastal city of Derna, observers say the warlord Khalifa Haftar and his sons are using the disaster response as a way to exert control rather than ensure vital humanitarian relief reaches civilians.

At least 11,300 people have died and more than 10,000 are missing, according to the Libyan Red Crescent, after two dams burst during a powerful storm last week.

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