Australia bomb cyclone live: Coastal residents told to ‘evacuate now' as powerful storm halts flights
Authorities on Tuesday warned that parts of New South Wales could expect the weather to worsen in the next 24 hours, with up to 250mm (9.8 inches) of rain and winds up to 125kmph (78mph) predicted.
Emergency services minister Jihad Dib said the size of the system was "enormous".
"It may seem pretty bad but the terrible thing is the situation is going to worsen over the course of the next 24 hours," he told a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Residents living in areas vulnerable to coastal erosion have been told to leave their homes, with minor flood warnings also in place for several communities along the state's Mid North Coast. Authorities received over 900 emergency calls on Tuesday.
'Stay indoors' warning as bomb cyclone pummels Australia's east coast
Residents across parts of New South Wales have been urged to stay inside as a powerful 'bomb cyclone' brings torrential rain and destructive winds to Australia's east coast.
The NSW State Emergency Service issued urgent warnings late on Tuesday for people in Jervis Bay, Ulladulla and Batemans Bay, where wind gusts exceeding 125kmph are possible overnight.
'Locally destructive wind gusts with peak gusts in excess of 125kmph are possible along the coastal fringe of the Illawarra and South Coast this evening and overnight, roughly between Jervis Bay and Batemans Bay, with this risk easing during Wednesday morning," the SES said.
A severe weather warning to stay indoors also applies to residents on the exposed coastal fringe of the Sydney metropolitan area, particularly between Bulli and Collaroy.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a further 100–200 mm of rain across parts of the Central Coast and Hunter region, with damaging winds expected to persist through Thursday as a powerful 'bomb cyclone' batters New South Wales.
Stuti Mishra1 July 2025 09:16
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Wimbledon goes walkabout! Cate Blanchett, Rebel Wilson and Russell Crowe serve up sophistication on Centre Court as Aussie stars lead arrivals on day two of Championships
Australia dominated the Royal Box at Centre Court on Tuesday, as Cate Blanchett, Russell Crow and Rebel Wilson led the stars arriving for day two of the Wimbledon Championships 2025. Used to blazing summers Down Under, the trio of Aussie movie stars appeared to fare much better at braving the sweltering heatwave during the outing at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Met Office has said temperatures could hit 36C (97F) after Monday saw the hottest start to Wimbledon on record and a peak of 33.1C (91.6F) in London. Two-time Oscar winner Cate, 56, was the picture of elegance in a pale blue double-breasted blazer and matching plaid patterned trousers. She shielded her face beneath a pair of mirrored aviator shades as she took her seat, bringing along her mother June to watch the action. Fellow actress Rebel, 45, soon came to sit beside her, cutting a radiant figure in a lacy pink dress with gold studded heels. Used to blazing summers Down Under, the trio of Aussie movie stars appeared to fare much better at braving the sweltering heatwave during the outing at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Russell pictured) The Pitch Perfect star was joined by her wife Ramona Agruma, who nailed summer chic in a silver and white striped dress under a coordinating unbuttoned shirt. The couple, who wed last year in a ceremony in Sardinia, looked as loved-up as ever as they posed together before the afternoon of tennis kicked off. While Russell, 61, got suited and booted for the occasion, looking dapper in a classic black suit and collared white shirt. The Gladiator star added a boldly coloured and plaid patterned tie and orange tinted sunglasses, as he laughed with his fiancée Britney Theriot. Britney looked besotted as she cosied up to Russell, putting on a sophisticated display in a floral pink dress with a polka dot scarf. The couple, who started dating in 2020, sparked speculation they are set to tie the knot after the actress began stepping out with a diamond ring. They are thought to be eyeing up an Italian wedding after reportedly visiting a church during a visit to Rome last year, with an insider telling Woman's Day: 'Italy was always going to be their wedding destination. 'Every time they go there, they come back more in love. It's always been their dream to get married there.' She shielded her face beneath a pair of mirrored aviator shades as she took her seat, bringing along her mother June to watch the action The couple, who wed last year in a ceremony in Sardinia, looked as loved-up as ever as they posed together before the afternoon of tennis kicked off The slew of famous faces looked engrossed in the action on the court, as reigning women's champion Barbora Krejcikova took on Alexandra Eala in the Ladies' Singles first round match. British number one Jack Draper, now ranked fourth in the world, is facing off against Argentina's Sebastian Baez, after emerging as a genuine contender to lift the coveted trophy. Britney looked besotted as she cosied up to Russell, putting on a sophisticated display in a floral pink dress with a polka dot scarf The couple, who started dating in 2020, sparked speculation they are set to tie the knot after the actress began stepping out with a diamond ring Elsewhere on the courts, British tennis star Katie Boulter sealed a huge victory against Paula Badosa on Monday afternoon in the women's singles, but was back on the grounds on Tuesday to watch her fiancé, Alex De Minaur, in his opening match of the Championships. Boulter took a prime spot in the stands around Court 18 to watch her beau take on Roberto Carballes Baena. But amid the sweltering Wimbledon heat, with temperatures climbing upwards of 31 degrees on Tuesday morning, the 28-year-old star sheltered from the sun under a purple and green Wimbledon-branded umbrella. De Minaur got off to a solid start against the World No 72, Baena, claiming the first set 6-2. Pegula, who was also sent packing at the French Open by world No 361 Lois Boisson last month, was beaten 6-2, 6-3 by the unseeded 24-year-old. The daughter of billionaire NFL owner Terry Pegula is enduring a disappointing 2025 so far after making it to her first Grand Slam final at the US Open last year, having also slipped out of the Australian Open in the third round. The surprise loss to Cocciaretto, who had never beaten a player ranked inside the top five before today, marks the nadir after her SW19 hopes went up in smoke in the very first round. It also goes down as her worst Grand Slam showing for five years, since she was eliminated in the first round at the French Open in 2020.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Firefighters tackle wildfires in Scotland
Emergency services are working to put out wildfires that have broken out in the north of Scotland. Firefighters have been dealing with fires for three days after they started near Carrbridge in the Highlands, with another starting near Forres in Moray. It's after the UK has experienced hot, dry weather, which makes vegetation more vulnerable to catching fire. Gamekeepers and land managers have been helping emergency services control the blaze, and residents near the area have been asked to keep doors and windows shut to avoid smoke. According to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, firefighters are still working to tackle wildfires across Highland and Moray for the fourth day in a Assistant Chief Officer Ross Robison said: "The vast scale of these fires has been challenging for our crews over the past four days, particularly because of the strong winds that have caused the fires and smoke to spread further across the landscape."If smoke is still visible, people living and working nearby have been advised to keep windows and doors closed and several roads have been closed in the affected areas. Why do wildfires start? Every year countries around the world are affected by wildfires, including here in the dry weather makes the vegetation drier, increasing the risk of setting alight. Most wildfires are started by humans. Something as simple as dropping litter could start one. The Fire Service has asked the public to remember not to light fires, stoves or BBQs when it's dry and don't leave litter behind or drop cigarettes.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Severe weather hits the US hard as key forecast offices reel from Trump cuts
A brutal stretch of severe weather has taxed communities on the eastern fringes of tornado alley this spring and early summer, while harsh staffing cuts and budget restrictions have forced federal meteorologists to attempt to forecast the carnage with less data. As of 30 June, there have already been more than 1,200 tornadoes nationwide. More than 60 people have died due to this year's tornadoes, most of which have centered on the Mississippi River valley – about 500 miles east of the traditional heart of 'tornado alley' of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. That unusual eastward shift may also be making tornado outbreaks more dangerous, bringing them in closer proximity to more people than the relatively sparsely populated plains states. In addition to the tornadoes, it's also been a burdensome year for flash flooding. On 14 June, more than three inches of rain fell in just half an hour in West Virginia, washing away a young boy and prompting frantic emergency rescues across two counties in the northern part of the state. According to National Weather Service statistics, rainfall that intense could only be expected to happen about once every thousand years in a stable climate. As the weather has worsened, there have been fewer federal scientists to alert the public of it. Cuts to the weather service by Trump and the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) have left NWS local forecast offices critically understaffed throughout this year's heightened severe weather. In April, an internal document reportedly described how cuts could create a situation of 'degraded' operations – shutting down core services one by one until it reaches an equilibrium that doesn't overtax its remaining employees. The changing climate is also making simultaneous weather disasters more likely, such as overlapping tornadoes and flash floods – creating emergency preparedness difficulties and compounding the effects of funding cuts. Deadly storms earlier this spring in Kentucky and Missouri featured torrential rains during an ongoing tornado outbreak, a nightmare scenario that demands close attention by emergency managers to avoid people seeking shelter in flood zones. At the NWS office in Jackson, Kentucky, however, a staffing shortage meant there was no on-duty forecaster for the overnight shift when the storms were at their peak. This year marks the first time that local NWS forecast offices have stopped round-the-clock operations in the agency's modern history. Now, additional meteorologists are being remanded from research roles – where they'd normally be working to improve techniques and make advances for future years – into the forecasting frontlines in an attempt to fill the staffing gaps. 'The world's example for weather services is being destroyed,' wrote Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin, on social media earlier this spring after a round of major changes were announced. In May, the main computer system that distributes NWS weather alerts to local partners for emergency broadcast suffered a lengthy outage. By the time the system was back online hours later, at least one flash flood warning, near Albuquerque, New Mexico and at least one tornado warning, near Columbia, South Carolina, never made it to the public. The decision to collect a bedrock source of data for forecasters – weather balloons – has been deferred to local offices, essentially making twice-daily launches optional for understaffed forecast centers. In June, offices that missed balloon launches serve New York City, Atlanta, Portland, and more than 10 sites in the midwest. Of the 91 launch sites, just over 70 sites were consistently launching balloons during peak tornado season in May – a loss of one-quarter of this critical data source. First used in 1896, weather balloon launches are still the single-most important type of data that meteorologists use. Weather balloons are the only way meteorologists have of taking direct measurements of air pressure, winds, temperature, and humidity throughout the atmosphere simultaneously at about 1,000 locations across the world – this data forms the basis for all computer-derived weather forecasts that appear on weather apps. Since upper atmospheric winds generally blow from west to east in the US, the persistent data loss has tended to affect weather forecasts in the eastern half of the country the most – exactly where tornadoes are happening more frequently. The entire process to launch a weather balloon takes a NWS employee about three hours. Since the balloon launches are time-consuming and difficult to automate, they're being phased out at NWS offices with staffing shortages – even though they collect essential data. 'At the expense of weather balloons, we would rather focus our energy on looking at other data that will allow us to be able to give you the advance prediction that a tornado will occur,' Suzanne Fortin, meteorologist in charge at the Omaha NWS said in a March press conference shortly after the cuts were announced. 'That's the reason we're suspending, so we can focus on those life-saving warnings that can keep people safe.' In May, every living former director of the NWS signed on to an open letter with a warning that, if continued, Trump's cuts to federal weather forecasting would create 'needless loss of life'. Despite bipartisan congressional pushback for a restoration in staffing and funding to the NWS, sharp budget cuts remain on pace in projections for the 2026 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent organization of the NWS. On Monday, in its annual budget request to Congress, Noaa proposed a slight budget increase for the NWS for fiscal year 2026 while maintaining deep cuts to its research budget that provides tools to forecasters. 'Noaa leadership is taking steps to address those who took a voluntary early retirement option,' Erica Grow Cei, an NWS spokesperson, said in a statement to the Guardian when asked about staffing. 'NWS continues to conduct short-term Temporary Duty assignments (TDYs), and is in the process of conducting a series of Reassignment Opportunity Notices (RONs) to fill roles at NWS field locations with the greatest operational need. 'Additionally, a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the Department-wide hiring freeze to further stabilize frontline operations.' In a 5 June hearing on Capitol Hill, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, whose role includes overseeing Noaa, and by extension the NWS, defended the administration's approach claiming agencies were 'full staffed' and were 'transforming how we track storms and forecast weather with cutting-edge technology'. 'Under no circumstances am I going to let public safety or public forecasting be touched,' he said. . Studies over the past decade have shown that global heating may be acting to both intensify tornado outbreaks and shift the tornado season eastward and earlier in the year. Warmer air can also hold more water vapor, making extreme rains even more intense. Five of the past six seasons have had a higher-than-average death toll. This year's tornado season is the second-busiest on record, and last year's was the third-busiest. Weather experts generally agree that this surge in tornado activity is due in part to unusually warm temperatures over the Gulf of Mexico that have helped supply the eastern US with the necessary ingredients for tornado formation. At the same time, new studies suggest that unusual summertime warming is concentrating activity into fewer days. The NWS anticipated some of these changes and had been planning to consolidate and modernize its forecast systems to be more responsive to complex weather emergencies. But what was supposed to be a multi-year transition to a 'mutual aid' concept has instead taken place haphazardly over the past several weeks. According to climate scientists and public safety experts, all of this adds up to more deaths in disasters. As peak hurricane season approaches, this is a big concern. Eric Holthaus is a meteorologist and climate journalist based in Minnesota
