Australia begins clean-up after floods kill 5, damage 10,000 properties
A drone view shows a boat approaching a flooded shed at a stud farm near the Hunter River in Heatherbrae, Australia, May 24, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
A drone view shows a flooded area near the Hunter River in Heatherbrae, Australia, May 24, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
SYDNEY - Australian authorities started clean-up efforts on Saturday after floods claimed five lives and inundated more than 10,000 properties in the country's southeast.
The New South Wales emergency services agency said damage assessments were under way in the state for the mid-north coast region after the floods that cut off towns, swept away livestock and destroyed homes this week.
"Early estimates indicate at least 10,000 properties may have been damaged following record flooding," the agency said in a statement. Conditions had improved since Friday in the impacted areas of Australia's most populous state, it said.
Even so, hundreds of flood-hit residents were still in evacuation centres, State Emergency Services commissioner Mike Wassing said at a media conference in Sydney, with 52 flood rescues being made overnight.
The latest flood-linked death was that of a man in his 80s, whose body was found at a flooded property about 50 km (31 miles) from Taree, one of the worst-hit towns, police said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, forced on Friday to cancel a trip to Taree due to floodwaters, said it was "awful to hear the news of more loss of life".
"All of our thoughts are with his loved ones and the community at this time," Albanese said in a statement.
The floods, sparked by days of incessant rain, submerged intersections and street signs in mid-north coast towns and covered cars up to their windshields, after fast-rising waters burst river banks. At their peak, the floods isolated around 50,000 people.
Australia has been hit with more extreme weather events that some experts say are the result of climate change. After droughts and devastating bushfires at the end of last decade, frequent floods have wreaked havoc since early 2021. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Guatemala's Fuego volcano eruption cools after over 700 evacuated
GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala's Fuego volcano shot ash miles into the air on Friday as authorities said they had evacuated more than 700 people from their homes as a precaution, before declaring the eruption over after some 30 hours of intense activity. Earlier in the day, seismology agency INSIVUMEH reported that a lava stream was building up around the crater of the volcano, which lies about 18 km (11 miles) from the central city of Antigua Guatemala, while some ash plumes reached around 5 km into the air. Disaster agency CONRED said they had evacuated over 700 people as from the nearby areas of Escuintla, Sacatepequez and Chimaltenango as a precaution. Local families, many with small children, spent the night on green camping cots in nearby shelters. Olga Lopez, who was evacuated from the town of El Porvenir, told Reuters she felt it was important to prioritize people's safety. "Sometimes when we grow up we can be stubborn and we don't want to leave because of material things like our houses, but protecting our children's lives is more important," she said. Activity at the volcano increased from Wednesday afternoon, but at midday (1800 GMT) on Friday, INSIVUMEH said it considered the eruption that began some 30 hours earlier to be over. The agency said that as camera footage no longer showed spurting lava or pulsations in the ground, and as there were no longer large amounts of ash suspended in the atmosphere, "it is possible to consider the eruption that began June 4 has ended." This followed some 30 hours of smoke plumes, lava flows and a downward surge of pyroclastic flows, it added. The Fuego volcano is known for its frequent activity. In June 2018, its most violent eruption in about four decades killed more than 200 people. Around the size of the U.S. state of Tennessee, the Central American nation is home to 37 volcanoes, though many of them are considered dormant or extinct. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
More than 700 people evacuated as Guatemala's Fuego volcano spews ash
GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala's Fuego volcano shot ash miles into the air on Friday as authorities said they had evacuated more than 700 people from their homes as a precaution. A lava stream was building up around the crater of the volcano, which lies about 18 km (11 miles) from the central city of Antigua Guatemala, seismology agency INSIVUMEH said. Some ash plumes reached around 5 km into the air, it added Authorities have been warning of increased activity around the active volcano this week. "We have evacuated over 700 people who have spent the night in shelters. We evacuated them as a precaution," disaster agency CONRED said on Friday. People had been moved from the nearby areas of Escuintla, Sacatepequez and Chimaltenango, it added. In a report shortly after midnight on Friday, INSIVUMEH said a lava flow could be seen stretching to around 1.2 km. "This continues to accumulate in an unstable manner around the crater and in the high parts of the ravines, which could collapse and cause more pyroclastic flows," it said. Fuego is known for its frequent activity. In June 2018, its most violent eruption in about four decades killed more than 200 people. Around the size of the U.S. state of Tennessee, the Central American nation is home to 37 volcanoes, though many of them are considered dormant or extinct. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Eruption at Guatemala's Fuego volcano forces over 700 to evacuate
GUATEMALA CITY - An ongoing eruption at central Guatemala's Fuego volcano has caused over 700 people living in nearby communities to evacuate, the country's disaster agency CONRED said on Friday. The volcano, located some 18 km (11 miles) from the city of Antigua Guatemala, was producing ash plumes some 4.8 km (29.8 miles) high and lava stream that was accumulating around its crater, Guatemala's seismology agency INSIVUMEH added. Authorities said they continued to monitor the situation. In a report shortly after midnight on Friday, INSIVUMEH said a lava flow could be seen stretching to around 1.2 km. "This continues to accumulate in an unstable manner around the crater and in the high parts of the ravines, which could collapse and cause more pyroclastic flows," it said. Around the size of the U.S. state of Tennessee, the Central American nation is home to 37 volcanoes though many of these are considered dormant or extinct. Fuego is known for its frequent activity. In June 2018, its most violent eruption in some four decades killed more than 200 people. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
