Aussie towns blanketed with rare snow in wild weather
CANBERRA : Several towns in eastern Australia were blanketed with their thickest layer of snow in decades as wild weather swept the area this weekend, causing floods, stranding vehicles and cutting power to thousands of homes, authorities said.
About 50cm of snow had been forecast to fall yesterday in some areas, with more than 10cm of rain expected in others, the New South Wales state emergency service said.
Conditions were easing today.
Parts of the state's New England North West region received their deepest snow in 20 years, state broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp reported, while the Sydney Morning Herald said an area of the neighbouring state of Queensland had its first snow in 10 years.
The emergency service said it had responded to more than 1,455 incidents and more than 100 vehicles had been stranded by snow, adding that storms had damaged buildings and it had issued several major flood warnings.
Tens of thousands of homes spent the night without power, the ABC said.
Police in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, said a car had become stuck in floodwater yesterday evening and a female passenger in her 20s was swept away.
The search was continuing today, they said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Malay Mail
China's Xi orders full-scale rescue as flash floods kill 10, leave 33 missing country's north-west
BEIJING, Aug 8 — President Xi Jinping on Friday ordered 'all-out' rescue efforts in China's arid and mountainous north-west after flash floods caused by exceptionally heavy rain killed 10 people and left 33 missing. Torrential downpours began around 6pm on Thursday and unleashed flash floods in Gansu province's Yuzhong, stranding some 4,000 people, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported. In one mountainous area, precipitation had reached up to 195mm since early Thursday evening. Yuzhong county normally sees 300-400mm of rainfall for the entire year. Yuzhong is situated among gullies and hills of wind-blown silt on one of the world's biggest loess plateaus. That makes it vulnerable to flash floods and landslides given the loose structure of the soil, which becomes unstable when saturated with water. Ankle-high muddy water could be seen coursing down a hilly road flanked by uprooted trees in a video posted by CCTV. 'The top priority must be to make every possible effort to search for and rescue missing people, relocate and resettle people under threat, minimise casualties, and restore communications and transportation as quickly as possible,' CCTV quoted Xi as saying. He warned local governments not to succumb to 'complacency and carelessness' in light of recent occurrences of extreme weather, CCTV said. Record rainfall has lashed China's north and south in recent weeks in what meteorologists describe as extreme weather events linked to climate change. Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 60 people across northern China including Beijing since late July. The National Development and Reform Commission said on Friday it has allocated 100 million yuan (RM59 million) to support rescue efforts in Gansu following the disaster. China has announced at least 6 billion yuan of funding for disaster relief since April. — Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
6 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Flash floods kill 6 in Myanmar-China border town
The northern town of Laiza is a stronghold of the Kachin Independence Army. (EPA Images pic) YANGON : Monsoon floods in a rebel-held Myanmar town on the country's mountainous border with China have killed six people, a spokesman for the armed group controlling the area said today. The northern town of Laiza bordering China's Yunnan province has reported flash flooding since early Monday, when muddy waist-high waters began to stream through the streets. Laiza is a stronghold of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which has for decades commanded control of its own ethnic enclave and emerged as one of the most powerful factions in Myanmar's civil war. 'A lot of water flowed down the mountain to the river,' said KIA spokesman Naw Bu. 'The flow of water was too strong and destroyed areas surrounding the river,' he added. 'Six people were killed in the flood and 100 houses were destroyed.' Rescue operation had begun today, he said, but were being hampered by road blockages. 'All of the roads have been damaged and the roads disappeared in some areas,' said one resident, who declined to be named for security reasons. 'The water rose suddenly.' More than 3.5 million people are currently displaced in Myanmar amid the civil war sparked by a 2021 coup, many sheltering in temporary camps, leaving them exposed to the elements. The resident said flooding was 'terrible' around local camps for the displaced where some shelters had been swept away and people had been wounded. Myanmar is in the midst of its monsoon season when daily deluges are common. But scientists say hazardous weather events are becoming more frequent and severe around the world as a result of human-driven climate change.
Malay Mail
7 days ago
- Malay Mail
Flash floods swallow Indian village, at least four dead and over 50 missing
NEW DELHI, Aug 5 — Surging flood waters swept through a village in the northern Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing at least four people and more than 50 others were missing, India Today TV channel reported today. Teams from army and disaster response forces had reached the area, local authorities said, with workers trying to rescue people trapped under debris and sludge, authorities added. TV news channels showed water, mud and debris surging down a mountain, sweeping away homes and a road. The mudslide cleaved through Dharali village, burying some houses, according to a video update shared by the state chief minister's office. 'A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the KheerGad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement,' the Central Command of the Indian Army said in a post on X. Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change. At least 200 people died in 2021 when flash floods swept away two hydroelectric projects in the state. There are about 10,000 glaciers in the Indian Himalayas, and many are receding due to the warming climate. — Reuters
