Weather crises continue to haunt Australia, the globe

Calendar year 2015 is finishing off with severe weather crises in what seem like every direction as major floods devastate the north of Australia and bushfires cause worry in the south.

Weather crises continue to haunt Australia, the globeWeather crises continue to haunt Australia, the globe

Weather crises continue to haunt Australia, the globe

Calendar year 2015 is finishing off with severe weather crises in what seem like every direction as major floods devastate the north of Australia and bushfires cause worry in the south.

And there is no sign they are relenting.

Victoria's fire danger rating is set to spike again later this week, while floods continue to afflict communities in the Northern Territory.

And now there are severe weather warnings for tropical Queensland.

Abbie O'Brien reports.

In a year of weather extremes, there is no sign of relief as 2015 draws to an end.

With floods devastating Britain, Spain battling bushfires, and tornadoes and floods wreaking havoc in the United States, severe weather is taking a toll across the globe.

And Australia is no exception.

As coastal residents in Victoria review the costs of the damage caused by a bushfire that wiped out 116 homes on Christmas Day, they now face another fire threat.

Temperatures are set to reach the high 30s later this week, prompting an increase in the state's fire danger rating.

And fires continue to burn out of control in the region, where Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has visited burnt out bushland and towns.

Speaking at the town of Wye River, Mr Turnbull has praised emergency services for their efforts, saying it has been inspiring to see what they have done.

"This has been a time of real tragedy, but it's also a time of triumph. This is a community that should be so proud of what it has achieved -- its leadership, its cohesion, its planning. They knew a bushfire was going to come. They knew that risk was there, and they worked on their plan well in advance."

Meanwhile, far away in the Northern Territory, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for the Daly, Arnhem, Barkley, Simpson and Carpentaria districts.

Police have declared a state of emergency for the Daly River area, where around 500 people have been evacuated to Darwin by helicopter.

Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw has told the ABC people should stay away from the area, about 200 kilometres south of Darwin.

"Traffic will not be able to enter the community, for obvious reasons. We need to secure that particular community, and not only look after the animals and so on, and the pets of the community, but the valuables and the premises there. So do not try and enter the Daly River community. "

The flooding has already killed one person, an elderly woman who drowned when the car she was travelling in became stranded on Dook Creek.

Two others have been reported missing and are feared dead.

One of those missing is a 28-year-old man trapped in floodwaters on Christmas Day who has not been seen since.

Susey Jackson, a resident of Elliot, a town halfway between Darwin and Alice Springs, has told the ABC there may be a cut-off of food supplies due to major road closures.

"Most of our food transports for the shops here come from Darwin. And if trucks can't get through with food, well, I don't know. And not a lot of people here have cars to go to Tennant (Creek) to do shopping."

In Darwin, volunteers have coordinated sport, art and library activities at a temporary school to keep the dozens of young evacuees occupied.

Graham Chadwick is the principal at Darwin's Nightcliff Primary, where the sessions are taking place.

He has told the ABC the sessions are designed to be a distraction for the children.

"Working with people who know children really well and who know what sort of programs support them to make them, you know, just to be able to take a bit of a breather from what's going on for them at the moment."

Severe weather warnings have now also been put in place in North Queensl4cd296699tü½1ß$and, where residents are being urged to prepare for potentially flooding rain.

The heaviest rainfall is expected between Babinda and Rollingstone, and isolated rains could exceed 200 millimetres.

 

 


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By Abbie O'Brien


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