Hundreds rescued by helicopters and boats after heavy rainfall sparks floods in Australia

Published

3 years ago

November 15, 2022

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Hundreds of people have been rescued by helicopters and boats after flooding in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms hit parts of the state, some of which were still recovering from similar floods just days earlier.

Cowra, which is about 166 miles west of Sydney, got 121mm of rain in the 24 hours to Monday morning – the highest rainfall in 118 years, according to official data.

In the 48 hours to Monday morning, there was 165mm at Tuena in Southern Tablelands, 127mm at Forbes Airport, and 118mm at Orange, while in neighbouring Victoria, Mount Hotham received 144mm and Tallandoon had 133mm.

The New South Wales State Emergency Service said it had performed 222 flood rescues and received 909 requests for help in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning.

This included around 150 people rescued on Monday from Eugowra and nearby Molong, 67 of them by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

Many of those rescued had been clinging to trees or sitting on rooftops.

State Emergency Service Chief Superintendent Dallas Burnes said people in Eugowra were shocked at how quickly the water level had risen.

“The velocity was extremely fast – too fast in many cases to put boats in the water – hence the evacuations we performed yesterday with the 12 assets we had on hand via helicopter,” he told Nine’s Today programme.

‘Lucky to be alive’

Libby Noble was near Eugowra and said her family farmhouse had been flooded to at least kitchen bench height.

She told The Sydney Morning Herald that the farm was left completely underwater, while her 85-year-old mother-in-law was in the family home when it was washed away.

“The house was picked up and washed back there with my mother-in-law inside it,” she told the newspaper.

“She is very lucky to be alive.

“It’s truly inconceivable.

“Sure, Eugowra does flood, but never like this, and never in these areas.”

‘I was hanging on for dear life’

Her mother-in-law told ABC: “I was ringing (emergency number) 000 and the water was getting higher and higher, and then I had to stand on a chair to get out of the water, and I was there for hours.

“I was looking out the window and no one came.

“Eventually, I saw a couple of men wading through the water where it was the road and I banged on the window and yelled, and they saw me, and they came down and got me out.

“It was freezing cold because I’d been standing there for hours.

“I didn’t have much time to think.

“I was hanging on for dear life and hoping for the best and I thought this is it.”

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Second flood in as many weeks

Forbes, about 270 miles west of Sydney, is battling its second flood in as many weeks, with the Lachlan River expected to reach 10.8 metres – levels not seen since flooding in 1952.

Evacuation orders had to be brought forward by two hours after flood water rose more quickly than expected.

About 600 properties in the town – which has a population of around 8,000 – are likely to be inundated.

Mayor Phyllis Miller told the Australian Broadcasting Corp: “They can’t believe this could happen twice in such a short period of time.

“I’m an optimist in my life, but this is really heartbreaking.”

Volunteers arriving from overseas

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said the federal government will deploy an additional 100 defence personnel to help in what is the biggest flood rescue operation in the state’s history.

Volunteers have arrived from New Zealand and the state has also asked for help from the US and Singapore, he added.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

7 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

World

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

9 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

World

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

16 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.