Woman dies and thousands urged to move to higher ground as ‘record-breaking rainfall’ hits Queensland

Published

3 months ago

February 3, 2025

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A woman has died and thousands of people have been urged to move to higher ground due to major flooding in northern Australia.

Torrential rains have hammered the state of Queensland over the past three days – with residents warned the floodwaters may “pose a threat to life and property”.

The rainfall has also left around 10,000 homes without power, according to reports in Australia.

The flooding in Queensland was triggered by heavy rain from a low pressure system rich in tropical moisture, Australia’s weather forecaster, the Bureau of Meteorology, said.

More than 47 inches of rain has been dumped on the town of Ingham and the city of Townsville over the past three days, Nine News reports.

Matt Collopy, from the Bureau of Meteorology, told Australian media there has been “record-breaking rainfall in many locations”, without specifying where.

Emergency alerts have been issued for several areas in and around Townsville, while the Bureau of Meteorology said major flood warnings were in place around multiple rivers near the coast of Queensland on Monday morning.

It came after a woman died in Ingham on Sunday after a State Emergency Service boat she was travelling in flipped over, according to Australian media.

Emergency responders carried out 11 water rescues overnight and hundreds of people were taken to evacuation centres.

On Sunday, regional emergency management authorities told people in affected low-lying areas to “collect their evacuation kit and move to a safe place on higher ground”.

Hinchinbrook Shire, a coastal area home to around 11,000 people in the north of the state, is one of the areas experiencing major flooding, Queensland authorities said.

Meanwhile, residents have been warned to be wary of crocodiles that could be lurking in the floodwaters.

Mr Crisafulli told ABC News in Australia on Monday that the state had faced rainfall of “monsoonal proportions”.

He added: “We’re talking about communities that in a two-day window have received over a metre of water.

“It’s quite frankly incredible… some of the images that we’re seeing on the ground of bridges ripped in two, of business inundated… there will be damage to agriculture.”

Mr Collopy said: “This is a significant and protracted weather event that we’re seeing with record-breaking rainfall in many locations. That rainfall is expected to ease over the next 24 hours and as you move into Tuesday, Wednesday, that easing trend continues.

“But there is a lot of water in those catchments. There’s already an incredible amount of water on the ground. There is more significant rain to come, so it will take days for that water to come out of those systems.”

North Queensland is home to large zinc reserves as well as major deposits of silver, lead, copper and iron ore, with Townsville a major processing centre for the region’s base metals.

In 2019, severe floods in the area disrupted lead and zinc concentrate rail shipments and damaged thousands of properties.

Frequent flooding has hit Australia’s east in recent years including “once in a century” floods that inundated Queensland’s neighbouring Northern Territory in January 2023 during a multi-year La Nina weather event.

World

Israel to allow ‘basic quantity of food’ into Gaza to avoid ‘starvation crisis’

Published

42 mins ago

May 19, 2025

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Israel to allow 'basic quantity of food' into Gaza to avoid 'starvation crisis'

Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas“.

Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.

It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report from last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.

The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.

“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.

“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”

It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.

Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it’s been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 – with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.

Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

World

Nicusor Dan beats hard-right favourite George Simion in surprise win in Romanian election

Published

13 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Nicusor Dan beats hard-right favourite George Simion in surprise win in Romanian election

Pro-Western candidate Nicusor Dan has unexpectedly beaten hard-right populist George Simion in the Romanian presidential election.

Mr Simion, 38, and his rival – a centrist who’s mayor of Bucharest – faced off in the second round of the contest.

According to the official tally, Mr Dan was leading by nearly nine percentage points with more than 98% of the votes counted.

After exit polls suggested he wasn’t going to win, Trump-supporting Mr Simion rejected the result and said estimates put him 400,000 votes ahead.

Speaking after voting ended, Mr Simion said his election was “clear” as he posted on Facebook: “I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!”

Romania’s last election was annulled after its highest court ruled the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to claims of electoral interference by Russia.

The result is surprising because in the first round, 38-year-old Mr Simion, founder of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), took 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead.

An opinion poll on Friday had it much closer, but still suggested the two men were virtually tied.

Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, is running as an independent and has pledged to clamp down on corruption.

He is also staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.

When voting closed at 9pm local time, 11.6 million people – about 64% of eligible voters – had cast ballots. About 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part.

The election is being closely watched across Europe amid a rise of support for President Donald Trump.

After polls closed, Mr Dan said “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in the latest vote “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania”.

“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said.

“There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”

World

Israel to allow ‘basic quantity of food’ into Gaza to avoid ‘starvation crisis’

Published

13 hours ago

May 18, 2025

admin

Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas”.

Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.

It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report issued last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.

“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.

“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”

It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.

Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza, with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

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