Natural disasters and extreme weather
Record-breaking 4.9m hectares of land burned in NSW this bushfire season | Australia news
A record-breaking area of land has been burned in New South Wales this bushfire season, according to the latest figures released by the Rural Fire Service. A total of 4.9m hectares – an area larger than Denmark – has been destroyed in the state during the nationwide fire crisis. The total area burned across NSW, …
Jakarta floods: cloud seeding planes will try to break up heavy rain | Environment
Indonesia will carry out cloud seeding to try and prevent further rainfall over the capital, Jakarta, and surrounding areas the death toll reached 43 on Friday amid flash floods and landslides. With more rain forecast, two small planes were readied to drop sodium chloride to break up potential rain clouds in the skies above the …
Volanic eruption creates new island in Tongan archipelago | World news
An undersea volcanic eruption in the Tongan archipelago has sunk one island and created another one that is three times larger, according to a report by geologists released on Thursday. Taaniela Kula, of the Tonga Geological Service, said the new island is estimated to be about 100 metres wide and 400 metres long, and is …
India: scores dead as late monsoon rains inundate northern states | World news
More than 100 people have died in flooding in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where vast areas have been inundated by delayed monsoon rains. Videos shared on social media show submerged roads and heavy flooding at one of the major hospitals in Patna, state capital of Bihar, where patients lay on beds …
‘Trees snapped like toothpicks’: how Dorian laid waste to Marsh Harbour | World news
Veneta Collins remembers clinging to her children for dear life as Hurricane Dorian pulverised the Bahamas. “I was scared for my two girls,” she says of Occalia, 14, and Katalia, aged two. “Katalia kept crying all the time. She was peeing herself and saying, ‘I’m scared mommy, I’m scared’. Occalia wanted to cry but didn’t …
Typhoon Faxai batters Tokyo, causing evacuations, blackouts and transport chaos | World news
A powerful typhoon with record-breaking winds and heavy rain has battered the Tokyo region, sparking evacuation warnings for tens of thousands and causing widespread blackouts and transport disruption. Typhoon Faxai was one of the most powerful typhoons to hit the Japanese capital for years, packing winds of up to 216kph (134mph). Faxai made landfall in …
‘It’s all gone’: shattered Bahamas counts cost of Hurricane Dorian’s destruction | World news
As Erica Roberts clung to a tall mango tree, the winds and sea water churned up by Hurricane Dorian pounding her face, a single thought ran through her head: “I will not die like this.” Her home, in the small town of High Rock on the eastern side of Grand Bahama, had been swept away. …
Hurricane Dorian: millions face evacuation orders as storm approaches Carolinas | World news
As forecasters warned on Wednesday of near-record water levels swamping North and South Carolina, millions of people were under evacuation orders while Hurricane Dorian crept up the south-eastern US coast. Dorian’s ferocity has weakened since it struck the Bahamas. But it is still powerful and appears likely to get dangerously near Charleston, South Carolina, which …
Fast-moving wildfire erupts in California, forcing thousands to evacuate | World news
A fast-moving wildfire that broke out on Thursday in northern California has forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 residents, racing across at least 600 acres within just a few hours, officials say. The Mountain fire, which erupted on the outskirts of a national forest in northern California, has threatened 1,110 homes and structures. As of …
Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people | World news
About 8,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on Gran Canaria in Spain’s Canary Islands, where firefighters are battling a wildfire that has burned more than 3,400 hectares (8,400 acres) of land. More than 700 firefighters supported by 11 helicopters and five aeroplanes are struggling to contain the fire, which began on Saturday near …
