SYDNEY, Dec 26, 2023 (AFP) – Thunderstorms and strong winds cut power to 110,000 homes in eastern Australia and toppled a tree that killed one woman, officials said Tuesday. People lost electricity as the storm wrought “catastrophic” damage, downing power lines in Queensland’s capital Brisbane and the Gold Coast area, energy company Energex said. “There is no easy way to say this but some customers will not have power for days — we’re looking at […]
Tag: weather
Extreme weather year ends with coldest December ever in China
BEIJING, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – More low temperature records tumbled across China on Thursday, as the country endures a persistent cold snap that has crowned a year of extreme weather. The national weather office said in a social media post that more than 20 stations posted all-time December lows in the early hours of Thursday. They included Hohhot, capital of the northern Inner Mongolia region, where a reading of -29.1 degrees Celsius (-20.4 Fahrenheit) […]
Denmark sees record precipitation for 2023
COPENHAGEN, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – A record amount of precipitation fell in Denmark in 2023, meteorologists said Wednesday, noting that more increases could be expected as a result of climate change. The annual tally of snow and rainfall as of Wednesday was over 907 millimeters (35.7 inches), national meteorological institute DMI said with over a week left in the year. The previous record since measurements started in 1874 was 905 mm, a level reached […]
Hundreds evacuated as flood disaster unfolds in northeastern Australia
CAIRNS, Australia, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Stranded residents sheltered on a hospital roof as flash floods swamped northeastern Australia on Monday, with raging waters severing roads and flushing crocodiles into towns. Rescue teams evacuated more than 300 people overnight, police said, and military helicopters were dispatched to help inundated areas cut off by the floods. Damage was reported along an expanse of coastline that stretched about 400 kilometres (250 miles) across northern Queensland. With […]
Northeastern Australia hit by ‘life-threatening’ flooding
SYDNEY, Dec 17, 2023 (AFP) – Near-record rain levels in north Queensland have caused “life-threatening” flooding, Australian authorities said Sunday, forcing the closure of Cairns airport. Emergency services said major flooding had particularly hit the northeastern city of Cairns, a tourist hub and gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The region’s rivers were already saturated after a tropical cyclone battered the region this week, submerging highways and uprooting trees. Amid the wild weather, a 10-year-old […]
Jasper leaves path of destruction in northeast Australia
CAIRNS, Australia, Dec 13, 2023 (AFP) – Disaster-response teams fanned out across northeastern Australia on Thursday, counting the cost of a tropical cyclone that flooded major highways, uprooted trees, and left 40,000 without power. Coastal regions were battered by damaging winds and swamped by flooded rivers as Tropical Cyclone Jasper barrelled in off the Coral Sea on Wednesday evening. Although the storm was running out of steam by Thursday morning, government meteorologists warned it was […]
Tropical cyclone Jasper threatens northeast Australia with life-threatening floods
SYDNEY, Dec 13, 2023 (AFP) – A tropical cyclone was building strength as it rolled towards northeastern Australia Wednesday, with authorities warning “life-threatening” floods could swamp coastal regions for days. Tropical Cyclone Jasper was expected to make landfall around 6:00 pm local time on Wednesday (0800 GMT), but forecasters said gale-force winds were already pummelling some towns. Some 8,000 homes are already without power, the Queensland state government said, while police have started closing major […]
Philippines records fewer storms, faces worst drought in decades
MANILA, Dec 12, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines has so far endured fewer storms in 2023 than in any of the past 25 years and now faces potentially the worst drought in decades, officials said Tuesday. The tropical archipelago nation — which is ranked among the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change — is usually affected by around 20 major storms a year. So far this year, only 10 have made landfall […]
Tennessee tornadoes leave trail of destruction, six dead
WASHINGTON, Dec 10, 2023 (AFP) – Tornadoes tore through the US state of Tennessee on Saturday, leaving at least six people dead, damaging homes and causing blackouts, authorities said. Three people died in a suburb of Nashville, the southeastern state’s capital, while photos posted by the city’s Office of Emergency Management showed downed trees and collapsed homes. “Unfortunately we can confirm there are 3 fatalities as a result of the severe weather on Nesbitt Lane,” […]
Sydney swelters in hottest day in three years
SYDNEY, Dec 9, 2023 (AFP) – Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned people to stay safe Saturday as a heatwave baked the eastern coast and sent temperatures in Sydney to a three-year high. Many people crowded Sydney’s beaches or sought relief in the shade as authorities warned the most vulnerable — including the elderly and very young — to shelter in cool buildings. Dozens of bush and grass fires were burning out of control across […]
Northeast monsoon affecting Northern Luzon
(Eagle News)–The northeast monsoon is affecting Northern Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, as a result, Batanes, Cagayan and Apayao will have cloudy skies with light rains. Flashfloods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains are possible. Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the rest of Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains. Metro Manila and the rest of the […]
2023 to be hottest year on record after ‘extraordinary’ November
By Daniel Lawler with Benjamin Legendre in Dubai PARIS, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – This year will be the hottest in recorded history after an “extraordinary” November became the sixth record-breaking month in a row, Europe’s climate monitor said Wednesday, piling pressure on the COP28 talks to act on climate change. Last month smashed the previous November heat record, pushing 2023’s global average temperature to 1.46 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, the EU’s Copernicus […]
