Weather News

SES continues clean-up as wild weather recedes from parts of Victoria

00:46 AEDT Severe thunderstorms are expected to lash eastern parts of the state today as Victoria continues to count the cost after days of wild weather.
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Arthur Boyd's new Bundanon art gallery opens with fire-and-flood-resistant design

23:23 AEDT After bushfires came within a kilometre of destroying one of the nation's most important collections of a single artist's work, plans to build a more secure gallery were expedited.
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Melburnians rescued from cars trapped in floodwaters as storms dump rain across Victoria

11:02 AEDT A severe weather warning for Greater Melbourne has been lifted, but authorities say more storms could crop up tonight.
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NT Police Commissioner not ruling out emergency response to food shortages

07:50 AEDT Northern Territory's Police Commissioner is not ruling out an emergency response to dwindling supplies in Alice Springs as rail and road links remain closed due to floodwaters in South Australia's far north.
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Homes destroyed during fierce Australia Day storm on Eyre Peninsula

06:51 AEDT Two farming families on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula have been left homeless after a tornado-like weather event on Australia Day ripped through their properties and destroyed their homes.
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South Australia makes major emergency declaration over storm damage and flooding

06:37 AEDT The South Australian government has declared a major emergency, with flooding and storm damage affecting parts of the state.
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Rail repairs could take weeks after outback flooding, Stuart Highway remains closed

04:46 AEDT Work to repair washed out rail tracks that connect South Australia to Perth and Darwin could take weeks, leaving freight to be shifted by trucks.
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Coles introduces new purchase limits in NT supermarkets after flooding in South Australia

04:35 AEDT Territorians will only be allowed to buy two bags of flour, two packets of rice and two bottles of fresh milk from Coles supermarkets under new purchase limits introduced today.
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Campers, hikers warned of falling trees in continuing wet weather

03:26 AEDT If a tree falls in the bush during summer, there's likely to be plenty of people around to hear it.
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Thunderstorm cluster approaches Melbourne as thousands of Victorians remain without power

03:16 AEDT More wild weather is continuing to lash Victoria, with showers and thunderstorms across large parts of the state.
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Krystal Cain's family says life is 'forever changed' by her loss in floodwaters

02:22 AEDT A 14-year-old girl who was washed away in floodwaters in the Gympie region will remain listed as a missing person, with search efforts now scaled back.
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Monsoonal trough tracks north, but days of rain still to come for parts of Queensland

02:21 AEDT A monsoonal trough that dumped torrential rain in north Queensland is easing, with the bulk of the wet weather leaving the region.
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More thunderstorms, rain, flash floods expected as Victorians urged to take shelter from wild weather

14:18 AEDT Parts of Victoria, including Melbourne, are in for a rough night with thunderstorms and showers expected to lash the state.
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BOM says Townsville hit by 'intense' rain event, warnings issued and motorists rescued

05:17 AEDT Almost 280 millimetres of rain fell over parts of north Queensland in just three hours last night in an intense downpour brought by a monsoonal trough.
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Storm destroys homes, damages infrastructure on flood-hit Eyre Peninsula

04:41 AEDT Homes have been destroyed and trees stripped of leaves by a severe storm that tore through parts of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula just days after flooding rains.
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Pastoralists rejoice as heavy rain recorded around Central Australia

03:26 AEDT Central Australian cattle stations are rejoicing after a wet start to 2022, with some properties receiving more than 150 millimetres of rain in a few hours.
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Why Bribie Island split in two and what happens now

20:06 AEDT Ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth has changed south-east Queensland's coastline, with massive swells buffeting Bribie Island's northern tip and splitting the island in two.  High tides and huge seas driven by Seth carved a passage through the northern end of Bribie Island at the end of last year.
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Territory-bound road trains blocked by flooded Stuart Hwy make 3,000km detour

06:11 AEDT Road trains bound for the Northern Territory and stranded on the flooded Stuart Highway are taking a 3,000-kilometre detour to deliver their cargo.  The highway, which connects South Australia and the country's southern states to the Northern Territory, has been closed between the remote outpost of Glendambo and the opal mining town of Coober Pedy.
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Drought-hit Queensland graziers 'over the moon' after biggest rainfall in more than a decade

04:15 AEDT The prayers of graziers in Queensland's central-west have been answered after the region received its biggest drenching in more than 10 years.
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Outback KFC forced to close after running out of chicken

02:21 AEDT Alice Springs KFC has been forced to close on Australia Day after running out of chicken.
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Aussie spirit shines as Biggenden community pulls together after devastating North Burnett floods

20:27 AEDT The raging floodwaters are gone, but farmers in Biggenden are still receiving calls about their cattle being discovered on properties far away.  Others have been too busy fixing fence lines and cleaning up debris to stop and think about the night two weeks ago when lives, livestock and livelihoods were swept away.
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Tasmanian bushfire season pushes later due to La Niña, with conditions primed for catastrophe

09:41 AEDT The shocking image of a fire column, described as "the finger of the beast", captured during a bushfire in Tasmania over the weekend has served as a reminder the island is in peak fire season ? with one expert saying every summer without a catastrophe is a "blessing".
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Why Perth and the Pilbara keep smashing temperature records and how heatwaves occur

02:51 AEDT It is heatwave season ? and it has already been a big one for WA.
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Mud Army's David Rakowski leads city-dwellers on tour of flood-hit Gympie Region

22:11 AEDT A Brisbane man who travelled to the Gympie Region to help with last fortnight's flood clean-up is returning with a busload of people to provide assistance of a different kind.  Instead of shovelling mud, David Rakowski will take a seat alongside dozens of other Brisbanites in pubs, bakeries and hotels across the region as part of the Country Support Tour to boost local economies.
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Extent of devastation to turtle season becoming clearer in cyclone's wake

22:04 AEDT The extent of devastation to Queensland's turtle season from ex-tropical cyclone Seth is becoming clearer, weeks after dangerous swell and high tides washed away hundreds of nests right before they were due to hatch.
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Stuart Highway flooding leaves truckies, residents stranded, shortages expected in the NT

21:18 AEDT Heavy rain and flooding has closed a 370-kilometre section of the Stuart Highway between Coober Pedy and Pimba, leaving many people stranded at roadhouses in South Australia.
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Road to Roxby Downs reopens after rain caused washout on Olympic Dam Highway

20:52 AEDT An outback highway has reopened, restoring access to several communities that were cut off when floodwaters washed away a section of road in South Australia's far north.
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Australian Rail Track Corporation says line closed between SA, WA and NT due to heavy rain in outback

06:02 AEDT A weekend washout along the rail track north of Port Augusta has halted freight services from Adelaide to Perth and Darwin.
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Roxby Downs cut off after outback floodwaters, rain wash out highway to remote mining town

05:41 AEDT Authorities are working to restore access to the remote South Australian mining community of Roxby Downs, after floodwaters washed away a section of the highway in and out of the town.
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Flooding in Kimba district causes a decade's worth of damage and communities are 'completely shut off'

03:18 AEDT Flooding on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula has caused "massive, massive damage" to roads and infrastructure and left communities completely isolated.
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Floodwaters submerge parts of outback SA as rain washes away highway and cars

22:45 AEDT Rescue crews have been kept busy by outback floodwaters and record-breaking rains, which have continued to cause havoc in South Australia's north and west, washing away roads as well as cars.
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Residents in a troubled group of Palmerston rental properties were warned to evacuate if a cyclone struck

20:33 AEDT Families living in a group of troubled affordable rentals in Greater Darwin have been warned they will need to evacuate their homes in the event of a cyclone after teams of engineers identified problems in the homes.
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Rain causes more flash flooding in outback South Australia, drenching the town of Kimba

13:05 AEDT Parts of regional South Australia have again been inundated with torrential downpours, turning tracks into waterways and completely submerging the green of one local bowls club.
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Perth smashes heat record, recording fifth consecutive day over 40C, with another scorcher forecast for Sunday

12:47 AEDT Perth has broken its record for the longest stretch of days over 40 degrees Celsius, as it swelters through one of its hottest summers on record.
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The immense power of Tongan volcano eruption baffled scientists, now they?re trying to unravel what happened

01:02 AEDT At 3pm AEDT on January 15, Japan's meteorological satellite Himawari-8 was scanning what would have been an otherwise innocuous day over the western Pacific.
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Should landlords be responsible for keeping tenants cool as Perth swelters through record heat?

23:51 AEDT For four days in Perth's heatwave over Christmas and New Year's, the temperature in Rosa Hicks's bedroom did not sink below 30 degrees.  Forced to isolate for a day in her small South Fremantle share house, she had only a pedestal fan to use in an attempt to cool herself.
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Flooded streets and footy ovals as slow-moving storm drenches SA's west coast

06:55 AEDT South Australia's Eyre Peninsula and west coast received a drenching overnight, enough for rain tanks to overflow.  Wirrulla mechanic Eric Greatbach said the area outside his business "looked like a giant pond of water" this morning after receiving more than 100 millimetres of rain overnight.
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Cyclone bunker in each bedroom sets Townsville house apart as regional house prices soar

06:33 AEDT A six-bedroom concrete cyclone bunker has hit the market and, while the agent says it needs a little TLC, it's mighty sturdy.
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How do volcanoes affect the weather and what's going on with the Tongan eruption?  

00:08 AEDT How do volcanoes affect the weather and what's going on with the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai eruption?   Close to an eruption there is a huge impact as the volcano releases moisture, ash, and gases into the atmosphere.  Within the volcanic plume, electrical charges can build to trigger lightning and the aerosols can seed rain.
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Perth heatwave continues with temperatures above 40 degrees expected until Sunday

21:23 AEDT Western Australia's west coast, including Perth, is sweltering through the fourth day of a heatwave that could break the city's hot-weather-streak record.
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Ash from Tongan volcano passes over Pilbara, 7,000km from eruption

04:06 AEDT Ash from the volcano eruption in Tonga on the weekend has created hazy skies and vivid sunsets in the Pilbara, 7,000 kilometres to the west.
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BOM forecasts a desert deluge before rain moves east, all the while the west swelters

21:51 AEDT The nation's centre is expected to get a drenching in the coming days as tropical moisture makes its way south.
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Torrential rain across western Queensland stirs memories of 2019 monsoonal floods

21:42 AEDT Heavy rain across western Queensland has caused flooding and closed multiple roads after totals of 155 millimetres were recorded between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
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Flooded Wide Bay Burnett community offered government grants for its long recovery

20:48 AEDT Just hours after Simon Done received a call warning floodwater from the Mary River would engulf the Wide Bay Rowing Club, the shed was underwater.
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Far West clean-up hampered by trade shortage, weather after storms wreak havoc

06:49 AEDT An insurance agent in Far West New South Wales has been inundated with calls after severe storms and damaging winds swept through the region last week.
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Bourke transformed by floodwaters heading for South Australia

03:30 AEDT Less than two years ago, the mighty Darling-Baaka River in far-west New South Wales was so drought-stricken that it was all but dry, with boats stuck on the bottom of its empty riverbed.
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Land owners charged with fraud offences over flood funding for outback property

04:27 AEDT Two North West Queensland men have been charged with fraud offences after allegedly accessing $360,000 through illegally claiming disaster assistance funding for a property following the 2019 monsoonal floods.
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Residents still waiting to return to Creswick's flood-prone social housing units

02:55 AEDT Displaced renters from a Creswick social housing complex may be waiting weeks longer before they can return to their homes, after flooding forced them to evacuate a fortnight ago.  On January 5 the regional town received hundreds of millimetres of rain in several hours, leading to major flood damage across the area.
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Tonga's Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano's impact felt around the world, from the US to Scotland

09:24 AEDT The extent of damage following a huge volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami remains to be revealed at its epicentre near Tonga, but its impact was felt right around the Pacific and, indeed, around the other side of the world.
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Australia and New Zealand send surveillance flights to assess damage from Tonga volcano eruption

08:22 AEDT The toll from the eruption of a huge undersea volcano in Tonga remains unclear with Australia and New Zealand sending surveillance flights to assess the damage.
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Tongan volcano creates 'eerie' sunrise thousands of kilometres away in Queensland

03:38 AEDT Thousands of kilometres from the Tongan volcano, residents in Queensland woke to a spectacular sunrise.
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Eleven years on from the 'inland tsunami', Toowoomba businesses clean up after another freak weather event

00:20 AEDT When Kristy Fielder arrived at work in the Toowoomba CBD, she thought it strange the garage door wouldn't open.
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More wild weather set for Toowoomba after hail, heavy rain slams south-east Queensland

23:11 AEDT A major clean-up effort is underway in Toowoomba's city centre after a wild storm ripped through the region overnight, dumping half a metre of hail and flooding businesses, which have been left to count the cost.
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Tasmania's hot weather and heatwaves explained

22:37 AEDT We are very fortunate in Tasmania to be surrounded by water.
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Sydney's Tongan community finds solace in prayer as they wait to hear from loved ones after volcanic eruption in Pacific Ocean

18:14 AEDT Sydney's Tongan community face an anxious wait as they struggle to communicate with family and friends back home, following a tsunami caused by a massive underwater volcanic eruption.
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Tonga volcano could erupt again soon, says volcano expert who camped at the site

04:32 AEDT The undersea volcano that erupted near Tonga sending a massive wave surge through the Pacific Ocean could erupt again within days, but Saturday's blast was likely the biggest we will experience, an expert says.
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Dozens of calls for help after storm cell lashes Illawarra, felling trees, damaging roofs

01:06 AEDT A clean-up is underway across parts of the Illawarra after a ferocious storm ripped through the region late on Saturday.
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Is climate change behind record-breaking temperatures in the Pilbara?

22:23 AEDT The Bureau of Meteorology says there has been an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events in Australia due in part to climate change.
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Griffith wine grape growers 'devastated' by storm damage

22:10 AEDT Some wine grape growers in Griffith are reeling after an isolated thunderstorm wiped out much of their crop just a couple of weeks before harvest.  Large hailstones and winds of more than 100 kilometres per hour pushed over vines and damaged grape bunches.  Grower Robert Bellato said he had lost up to forty per cent of his crop, and some vines were permanently damaged.  "It really defoliated the western side of the vines.
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Top End locals count cost of damage linked to ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany

22:05 AEDT Locals across the southern part of the Top End are assessing the damage left by days of severe weather in the region.
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Gulf graziers desperate for rain, as ex-Cyclone Tiffany does little to help

21:27 AEDT Graziers across the Gulf of Carpentaria region have been left stressed and disappointed as their optimistic start to the wet season all but dries up.
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Dam bursts as ex-tropical cyclone Seth adds to farmer's water woes

20:01 AEDT Cane farmer Tony Russo stands at the bottom of an empty dam on his property near Childers, but this time it's not empty because of drought.  The dam burst its banks on Saturday after a deluge of rain from ex-tropical cyclone Seth saw more than 300 millimetres fall in a matter of hours at Farnsfield between Bundaberg and Childers.
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Storms in the south-east, a drenching for the Top End and showers for the cricket

14:13 AEDT South-east Australia is expecting storms on Thursday and Friday, the Top End is set for a drenching from the remains of ex-cyclone Tiffany, and it might be a bit wet for the start of the Hobart Test.
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Onslow in the Pilbara reaches 50.7C, equalling Australia's hottest day on record

14:05 AEDT A small beachside town in the Pilbara has equalled Australia's hottest day on record.  Temperatures reached 50.7 degrees Celsius at Onslow at 2.26pm, matching Oodnadatta in outback South Australia, which hit 50.7C on January 2, 1960.
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Search expands for missing girl Krystal Cain, 14, as floodwaters recede in Gympie region

03:36 AEDT The family of Krystal Cain say they are "holding onto hope" as police continue their search for the missing 14-year-old in the Gympie region.  Krystal was swept into floodwaters after she and her father, Lenny, became trapped in the early hours of Saturday morning.  Her uncle Steve Cain said the family are supporting each other as emergency services search for his "fun-loving" niece.
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Queensland couple lucky to be alive as tsunami-like wave washes them away on top of a water tank

01:15 AEDT A North Burnett couple say they are lucky to be alive after surviving a morning clinging to a water tank in raging floodwaters.
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Drought, fire, and now floods in just three years for Queensland farmers

21:20 AEDT Three years ago, Ilse Heidegger battled bushfires with a leaf blower on her cattle property at Woolooga, in South-East Queensland.
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Top Enders brace for wet, windy weather as Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany crosses NT coast

09:25 AEDT Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany crossed the eastern Top End coast as a category 1 system but has now been downgraded a tropical low.
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Heavy thunderstorm hits Riverland as it swelters through a severe heatwave

06:48 AEDT A heavy summer storm in the Riverland on Tuesday night has dumped more than 30 millimetres of rain and hail in some places, as the region sweats through a severe heatwave.  The storm cell moved over the west of the region, hitting the townships including Waikerie, Overland Corner, Kingston on Murray, Barmera and Galga.  Rainfall totals included 30mm in 10 minutes at Walker Flat and Overland Corner, with hail and power outages also reported.  About 20 properties were still without power on Wednesday.  The storm on the second day of 40 degrees Celsius did not see temperatures drop, with the mercury again rising to 40C on Wednesday.
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Lithgow braces for large damage bill after intense 30-minute storm floods parts of town

03:55 AEDT The historic town of Lithgow is cleaning up the damage from what locals describe as a storm so ferocious it flooded homes and businesses, on a scale never seen before.  A weather system that moved from Dubbo to the east hit the main street early yesterday afternoon, and what unfolded caught most people by surprise.  In as little as half an hour, more than 70mm fell.
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SES warns against flood complacency in western NSW following several rescues

19:55 AEDT The State Emergency Service is warning people against complacency around floodwaters following several rescues in central-western NSW over the weekend.  Two groups of campers had to be rescued in separate incidents near Bathurst on Sunday after being isolated by floodwaters.
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Farmers tell of frantic rescue efforts as Gympie floods sweep Victorian father, daughter away

10:11 AEDT Farmers Ken and Julie Thompson were still awake in the small hours of Saturday morning when they saw car lights in the distance approaching the rising floodwaters near their property west of Maryborough.
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Groote Eylandt residents preparing for ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany to regain intensity

06:37 AEDT If a tropical cyclone bears down on his remote Territory island home tonight, store manager Eugene Anderson may be seeing out the storm from a shipping container.
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Stories of survival emerge from Gympie floods as horses tread water for hours

06:28 AEDT Horse owners and farmers are counting their losses and celebrating tales of survival after the Gympie region was inundated with up to 650 millimetres of rain over the weekend.
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Man's body found in floodwater near Tiaro as Maryborough residents begin to assess damage

05:28 AEDT A man has died after his boat capsized in floodwaters in Queensland's Fraser Coast region this morning.
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Mud Army helps out flood-ravaged regional communities

02:12 AEDT David Rakowski has never been to Tansey before, a small Queensland town north-west of Gympie, with a population of just 144 people.  But today the Brisbane resident is helping clean up the local bowls club.
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Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany expected to re-intensify with parts of Queensland to prepare for heavy rain and strong wind

01:30 AEDT Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany is continuing to move west across the Cape York Peninsula with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warning it will "rapidly intensify" overnight.
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Cyclone watch issued for Nhulunbuy, Groote Eylandt, as Cyclone Tiffany heads towards the NT

10:33 AEDT The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a cyclone watch for a large area of the Northern Territory coastline as preparations for a category three system get underway.
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Tropical Cyclone Tiffany downgraded to category one after making landfall in Cape York

10:27 AEDT Tropical Cyclone Tiffany has been downgraded to a category one system after it crossed the far north Queensland Coast.
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Should you build your home stronger to withstand the possible impacts of climate change?

07:44 AEDT As the footprint of climate change becomes clearer, the ability of homes to withstand the accelerating impacts of climate change and extreme weather is turning into a significant challenge.
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Stranded families escape rising floodwaters near Gympie by tying tinny to a power pole

07:24 AEDT Remarkable stories of survival continue to emerge from flood-ravaged areas around Gympie, north of the Sunshine Coast, that have received almost a metre of rain in recent days.
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Father and daughter rescued after two days clinging to tree in floodwaters, major flooding continues in Maryborough

05:16 AEDT A father and daughter have been airlifted to safety after spending two nights clinging to a tree surrounded by floodwaters in Queensland's Gympie region.  The man, in his 40s and his primary-school-aged daughter managed to grab on to the tree after their car was washed into floodwaters while they were driving on Friday night.  The father told rescue crews that on the first night he managed to swim to their submerged car and get a rope, then used it to tie himself and his daughter to the tree to stop them getting washed away.  The waters subsided on Sunday morning, and the two were able to climb down more than 10 metres and get help.  Both the father and daughter suffered exposure, dehydration and insect bites. They were airlifted to Kingaroy Hospital for medical treatment before being discharged.  Coastal areas of Queensland are currently bracing for additional rainfall and flooding.
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Property assessments and clean-up continues in storm-affected Creswick

00:44 AEDT The Hepburn Shire council and residents in Creswick are continuing to assess devastating damages from a storm 'unlike any other' last week.
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Cyclone Tiffany gains strength off Far North Queensland

23:03 AEDT Communities along Cape York Peninsula are bracing for Cyclone Tiffany, a category one system that is gaining strength off the Far North Queensland coast.
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Heavy rain continues to soak southeastern Qld

14:42 AEDT Just a day after parts of southeast Queensland had their heaviest rain in over 100 years, further heavy rain has tumbled down across the southern Queensland coast, with some locations exceeding 100mm.  In the 24 hours to 9am Saturday, Mount Joseph (200km northwest of Brisbane) recorded 451mm of rain, the highest daily total in over 100 years.
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SES continues clean-up as wild weather recedes from parts of Victoria

00:46 AEDT Severe thunderstorms are expected to lash eastern parts of the state today as Victoria continues to count the cost after days of wild weather.