By Dr John Church, CSIRO Fellow at the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research08 February 2011 Today there are more than 140 million people and a trillion dollars in infrastructure in the first one metre above high tide level around the world. Coastal areas (people, infrastructure and the environment) are already affected by extreme […]
Sydney (AFP) Feb 6, 2011 – Hammered by a monster cyclone just weeks after flooding spewed toxic waste into its pristine waters, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could face a slow recovery due to climate change, experts warn. Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, a top-category storm, ripped through Australia’s northeast tourist coast Thursday, levelling houses and decimating […]
By Peter Michael, The Courier-MailFebruary 08, 2011 12:01AM WORLD Heritage rainforest and surviving populations of endangered southern cassowaries and dugong were hit hard by Cyclone Yasi, scientists warn. Some of Queensland’s top tropical experts met for the first time yesterday to assess the ecological impact of the Category 5 cyclone described as “far worse and […]
Canberra, 08 February 2011 (FOCUS News Agency) – A drop in coal and agricultural exports forced by Australia’s flood and cyclone disasters could “thump” its economy in the first quarter, forcing growth into reverse, Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned, AFP reports. The calamitous weather that has battered resource-rich Queensland state since December could cause the […]
AS EASTERN AUSTRALIA RECOVERS from last month’s heavy flooding and last week’s category-5 cyclone, Perth in the west is tackling serious wildfires which have destroyed dozens of homes. The Lord Mayor of Perth has opened an appeal to assist the victims of the fires as officials have been reading lists of homes which have been […]
4 February 2011 (businessspectator.com.au) – Suncorp Group chief executive Patrick Snowball has warned that reoccurring natural disasters might drive multinational re-insurance companies out of the Australian market. Speaking to ABC TV’s Inside Business, Mr Snowball said that many people in Queensland did not have flood insurance, which was causing re-insurers to avoid targeting the state. […]
[cf. Climate mass migration fears ‘unfounded’] Singapore (AFP) Feb 6, 2011 – Asia must prepare for millions of people to flee their homes to safer havens within countries and across borders as weather patterns become more extreme, the Asian Development Bank warns. A draft of an ADB report obtained by AFP over the weekend and […]
Peter Munro and Mark Russell, with Ruth Williams and Anna WhitelawFebruary 6, 2011 VICTORIANS have been warned to prepare for more wild weather as flash flooding and storms wreaked havoc across the state, ripping roofs from buildings, tearing up trees and closing roads, schools and churches. Driving rain and winds of more than 130km/h battered […]
By Amanda Drury, CNBC News AnchorPublished: Friday, 4 Feb 2011 | 11:27 AM ET El Niño and La Niña have a lot to answer for. And we’re not talking about two naughty kids. Weather pattern El Niño brought Australia a crippling drought for nearly decade. La Niña has taken its place with decidedly strong and […]
© The Cairns PostFriday, February 4, 2011 TOWNSVILLE may have escaped the worst of cyclone Yasi, but now faces the prospect of running out of water. Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell has warned the city could run out of fresh drinking water after power was cut to the main water treatment plant. Cr Tyrell has pleaded […]
