Severe drought sees emus and other wildlife in search of water
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ABC News
14 minutes ago
- ABC News
Severe weather in Western Australia's Harvey as hail like 'bullets' lash town
Residents in the town of Harvey woke to the sound of huge hailstones crashing overhead, as the region was lashed with two cold fronts over the weekend. Bee Brislin, who lives in Harvey, 139 kilometres south of Perth, said her patio was smashed with stones thicker than her fingers. "The kids woke up thinking the windows were cracking open because the hail was so loud. It was incredible," she said. Ms Brislin said some other residents were pelted with hail "the size of golf balls", which had caused significant car damage and covered the town in a sheet of ice. "It looked like it had been snowing … it was surreal," she said. It was part of the wild weather experienced across Australia over the weekend, with NSW experiencing its deepest snow in 20 years and parts of Queensland recording below-average temperatures and light snowfalls. The hailstorm at Harvey on Sunday coincided with the 61st anniversary of an extreme downpour that forced the town to evacuate. On August 3, 1964, the town was evacuated due to fear that the Harvey Weir would collapse as a result of an immense downpour. Fearing the worst, police officers knocked on the doors of homes and directed them to the Harvey Golf Club and the high school to take shelter. Residents were able to return to their homes a few days later when the storm had passed. Longtime Harvey resident Graham Hough was five years old at the time. "They [his parents] heard this ute go flying up the road with lights and sirens going. This bloke's come running out [saying] 'evacuate, evacuate. It's a national emergency,'" Mr Hough said. Ms Brislin said the coincidence of the latest storm falling on the same day as the evacuation was the "gossip of the town". According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the latest storms over the weekend were a once-in-five-year weather event. BOM senior meteorologist Jessica Lingard said Cape Naturaliste recorded a wind gust of 115 kph on Sunday, the second highest on record in August. Meanwhile, she said Bunbury recorded a gust of 91 kph, the third-highest on record in August. Ms Lingard said the last time the South West copped wind that strong was three to four years ago. "We did have those two cold fronts move through, the first on Saturday was more of a rainier system and then the one that came through yesterday was definitely the windier of the two." Some of the highest rainfall levels in the South West over the last 72 hours included Northcliffe with 76 millimetres of rainfall, Carlotta with 64mm, Pemberton with 62mm and Ravenscliffe with 61mm, according to BOM. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said there were 179 call-outs for assistance statewide relating to roof damage, trees falling down and water ingress — 21 of which were in the South West. In Perth, extreme winds damaged the roof of the IKEA building in Innaloo. The store has been closed today while repairs are underway. An IKEA spokesperson said the damage happened outside of opening hours, so no-one was injured.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Emergency warnings remain in place for NSW flooding
Four emergency warnings remain in place and more than 20,000 homes and businesses are still without power after a weekend of wild weather in parts of NSW.
SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Parts of NSW on flood watch, schools close as search for missing woman continues
A search for a woman swept into floodwaters in NSW's Hunter region is ongoing, after wild weather hammered northern NSW over the weekend. Emergency workers were called north of Cessnock on Saturday night after reports that a MINI car was grounded due to the floods. The driver, a 27-year-old woman, managed to get out, but the passenger, 26, was dragged away with the strong current. "We've had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to floodwaters," Hunter Valley police superintendent Steve Laksa said. "I'd just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway." Emergency services say riverine rises remain a risk as floodwater moves downstream, despite a severe weather warning being cancelled on Monday ahead of more settled conditions. Source: Supplied / NSW SES At least 26 schools will be forced to close due to the wild weather, with children from schools across the NSW mid-north coast, Hunter and Central Coast told to stay home on Monday. "If a school is closed, it will not be offering supervision to students," the NSW Department of Education said in a statement on Sunday, noting learning-from-home resources would be made available for students. People were stranded in their cars over the weekend amid unprecedented snowfall in the NSW New England region. Source: Supplied / NSW SES The NSW SES responded to more than 1,455 weekend call-outs related to rain, thunderstorms and snow. Crews responding to the emergency saved a 40-year-old man who was stuck in a nearby tree due to floodwater. The man was swept out of the tree, but rescuers followed him into the water and managed to pull him to shore, and he was taken to hospital. Tens of thousands of households in the eastern state spent a night without power, and people were stranded in their cars amid unprecedented snowfall in the New England region. Warnings remain in place for residents across the mid-north coast, Upper Hunter and New England regions. Source: Supplied / NSW SES There are still more than 50 warnings current for residents across the mid-north coast, Upper Hunter and New England regions. Minor flood warnings are current for the Manning, Gloucester, Macleay, Severn, Paterson, Williams, and Gwydir Rivers.
