Latest news with #OliverLane
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Climate
- Perth Now
West Aussies warned of wild weather as major storm rolls in
Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia has warned 'winter is coming' as he urged households to prepare for Perth's first major storm of the season due to hit on WA Day. Authorities are asking residents to prepare their homes to reduce the likelihood of storm related damage as flocks of families travel to the regions to celebrate the long weekend. Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Gianni Colangelo said the wild weather was set to begin on WA Day on Monday. Up to 25mm of rain is forecast on Monday, while up to 60mm is predicted over the following two days. 'We're able to identify the first large cold front of the season is upon us, set to arrive on Monday at the end of the long weekend coming,' Mr Colangelo said. 'It's cold fronts like these and others throughout the season that often deliver areas of severe weather. 'Severe weather that we see every winter season, damaging gale force winds, sometimes destructive, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.' Mr Papalia said it was up to West Australians to prepare themselves for the weather ahead. Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia said it was easy to be complacent after a long summer. Credit: Oliver Lane 'Winter is coming, that's the message we're delivering today to all Western Australians, particularly here in the southwest,' he said. 'The stormy winter weather is about upon us and it's time that we all took time to prepare ourselves, prepare your homes, do what you can to make the job of our State Emergency Service and other volunteers a lot easier.' DFES responded to more than 1000 calls for assistance between June and October last year, the majority of calls related to roof and structural damage, fallen trees and water ingress in homes. According to the emergency service, crews spent an average of 3.5 hours at properties for damage which could have likely been prevented. To prevent unnecessary damage residents should clean gutters and downpipes, remove overhanging branches as well as secure trampolines, furniture and bins which could become airborne in strong winds. DFES deputy commissioner Craig Waters said SES services spent an average of around 3.5 hours at callouts. Credit: Oliver Lane DFES deputy commissioner Craig Waters said it was easy to be complacent after an especially long summer. 'We're just asking the community not to be complacent and to ensure that they're well prepared that both their property and their family are prepared for the coming storm season,' he said. 'People can often get caught off guard in relation to the change of seasons and we often see the most destructive weather coming in those first couple of cold fronts as part of the winter months.' Residents are reminded to stay up to date with the latest warnings using the Emergency WA website and app. In the case of serious damage to your home which is urgent, you should call the SES on 132 500 or call triple zero (000) in the case of a life-threatening emergency. SATURDAY: 22C, showers and chance of storms SUNDAY: 22C, showers MONDAY: 22C, showers and chance of storms TUESDAY: 20C, showers and chance of storms WEDNESDAY: 20C, high chance of showers
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Climate
- Perth Now
SPRINKLER BAN: Remember to switch off retic from Sunday
It's time to switch off your sprinklers. Credit: edgarwinkler / Pixabay (user edgarwinkler) Oliver Lane The West Australian West Australians are being reminded to switch off their garden sprinklers from Sunday as winter officially arrives. Households who use scheme and bore water across the most of southern WA will be required to turn off their garden sprinklers or face penalties. According to the Water Corporation, the switch off saves about five billion litres of water a year, coming as water usage in Perth rose 12 per cent in 2024 while rainfall has dropped to record lows. Water Corporation demand delivery manager Damien Postma said the winter sprinkler switch-off was necessary to prepare for increased usage in summer. 'It's important we don't get complacent when it comes to being waterwise because using water efficiently is a fundamental to collective water security, especially given recent climate trends,' he said. 'This means we need to make the most of what little rainfall we do receive.'
Perth Now
06-05-2025
- Perth Now
Medical emergency sees Perth to London diverted to Maldives
A Qantas flight from Perth to London has made an emergency landing in the Maldives Credit: flightradar / supplied Jessica Evensen and Oliver Lane The West Australian A Qantas flight from Perth to London has been forced to divert and land in the Maldives after a medical emergency on board. The airline confirmed flight QF9 — which departed Perth about 6.30pm on Monday — was travelling over the Indian Ocean when it had to divert and land in the island nation of the Maldives, around 750km south of the Indian mainland. The flight landed at around 11.30pm in the Maldives after almost eight hours of flying. It is understood the flight staff onboard reached their duty limit so where unable to continue the flight after the emergency was resolved, leaving passengers stranded in the nation's capital, Male. According to a Qantas spokesperson the Boeing 787 aircraft flight work was being done to assist impacted customers. A Qantas flight from Perth to London has made an emergency landing in the Maldives Credit: flightradar / supplied 'Earlier this morning our QF9 Perth to London service diverted to Male in the Maldives due to a medical incident onboard,' they said. 'We apologise to customers for the disruption and are working to reaccommodate them on alternate services out of Male in the next 24 hours.' Qantas staff are travelling from London to Male to provide additional support.
