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headline

Seroja makes lanfall as category three storm

Tens of thousands in Western Australia are enduring a night of terrifying weather as Cyclone Seroja hits as a category three storm.

The fast-moving storm made landfall at Kalbarri with wind gusts up to 170km/h before continuing southeastwards towards Geraldton about 9pm (11pm AEST).

It is expected to weaken as it moves inland, but continue to bring ferocious winds and huge dumps of rain.

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In Kalbarri where the cyclone first hit, 9News Perth reporter Darius Winterfield said the roof had been ripped off his balcony before he retreated to the back of the apartment for fear of the glass doors smashing.

"Water is flooding in through the windows and the main roof is rattling very loudly … we've lost power and have little phone reception, we are considering options if the roof goes," Winterfield said.

"My fears for the rest of Kalbarri tonight, Cylone Seroja has hit hard."

Just after 9pm he said it felt like the worst had passed Kalbarri.

"I can hear alarms going off all around us and poked my head out the balcony, can already see a few shacks that have been absolutely smashed. This will be devastating for many come first light."

Red alerts were issued for multiple towns along the coast, telling people in the path of the storm "to go to shelter immediately".

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The red alerts were for people in or near Carnarvon to Lancelin, including the Shires of Shark Bay, Northampton, Chapman Valley, Morawa, City of Greater Geraldton, Mingenew, Three Springs, Perenjori, Irwin and the townsites Coorow and Carnamah.

Premier Mark McGowan said the state should brace for major damage from what is a very serious storm.

Seroja has recorded sustained winds near its centre of 120km/h with gusts to 170km/h .

The most likely area to experience destructive wind gusts is on the coast from Denham to Geraldton, but destructive gusts above 125km/h may extend inland as far as a line from Dalwallinu to Paynes Find, including Morawa, the bureau says.

"Towns in this area very rarely experience wind gusts this strong."

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Storm emergency in WA.

Just before 10pm, the cyclone was moving rapidly towards the southeast.

"Seroja is travelling at around 55km/h, and significant impacts are expected to extend inland through to Wheat Belt communities overnight," the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"The cyclone will weaken as it moves further inland on Monday but is still likely to result in damaging wind gusts, particularly to the north and east of the track, and heavy rain close to the track, as it moves through the eastern Wheat Belt, southern Goldfields and South East Coastal district.

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"A Severe Weather Warning is current for areas to the southeast of the Tropical Cyclone Warning area."

headline

La Soufriere Eruption: 16,000 Evacuated,Power Cuts and Ash Cover St. Vincent, Massive Cloud Heads to Barbados

At least 16,000 people evacuated from island, with cruise ships helping

Reuters

The thick dust was also on the move, travelling 175 kilometres to the east and starting to affect the neighbouring island of Barbados.

“Barbadians have been urged to stay indoors as thick plumes of volcanic ash move through the atmosphere,” the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said.

The whitish powder caked roads, homes and buildings in St Vincent after the powerful blasts from the La Soufriere volcano that began on Friday.

Visibility in some areas was extremely limited, while in the capital city Kingstown on the south of the island – the volcano is in the north – the ash caused a thin haze of dust, the portal said.

“Vincentians are waking up to extremely heavy ash fall and strong sulphur smells which have now advanced to the capital,” the local emergency management agency tweeted.

The eruptions prompted thousands of people to flee to safety. Around 16,000 people live in areas under evacuation orders.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Saturday that water had been cut off in most areas and the country’s air space was closed because of the ash. Around 3,000 people spent the night in shelters.

“It’s a huge operation that is facing us,” Mr Gonsalves told NBC News.

He said his government had been in contact with other countries that wanted to provide aid. Guyana and Venezuela were sending ships with supplies, Mr Gonsalves said.

The initial blast from La Soufriere, the highest peak in St Vincent and the Grenadines, sent plumes of hot ash and smoke 6,000 metres into the air on Friday morning.

A second, smaller eruption took place on Friday afternoon, belching out a 4,000-metre ash cloud, the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre said.

The centre’s director, Erouscilla Joseph, said late Saturday that there had been “additional explosions” throughout the day which had been accompanied by more ash.

“Unfortunately, we believe that more seismic unrest will be expected overnight,” she added.

The 1,235-metre La Soufriere – the name is French for “sulphur mine” – had not erupted since 1979, and its largest eruption happened over a century ago, killing more than 1,000 people in 1902.

It had been rumbling for months before it finally blew.

“We are trying to be OK. It’s deathly quiet outside and the mood is pensive,” said Vynette Frederick, 44, a lawyer in Kingstown.

North-west of Kingstown on the 30-kilometre island, Zen Punnett said things had calmed down after the initial panic as evacuation orders went out on Thursday night.

“It’s gotten hazier. We are staying inside,” she said.

The emergency management agency posted photos of a Coast Guard ship evacuating residents who had previously refused to leave. Standing on a dock, the air above the evacuees was a chalky gray.

Most of the people in the red zone had been moved to safety by Friday, authorities said.

Cruise ships were on the way to assist the evacuation effort.

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St Vincent volcano: Power cuts after another ‘explosive event’

There has been another “explosive event” at a volcano on the Caribbean island of St Vincent, with power outages and water supplies cut off.

The La Soufrière volcano first erupted on Friday, blanketing the island in a layer of ash and forcing some 16,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Residents in Barbados, nearly 200km (about 124 miles) to the east, have also been urged to stay indoors.

Scientists warn that eruptions could continue for days – or even weeks.

On Sunday, St Vincent’s emergency management organisation Nemo tweeted: “Massive power outage following another explosive event at La Soufriere Volcano. Lightning, thunder and rumblings. Majority of the country out of power and covered in ash.”

Ash and smoke billow as the La Soufrière volcano erupts in Kingstown on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincentimage copyrightReuters
image captionThe volcano had been dormant since 1979

White-coloured dust has covered buildings and roads around the island, including in its capital Kingstown.

How are residents coping?

Nemo is urging people to “be careful on the roads, which have become treacherous as a result of the ash flow”.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said water supplies to most of the island had been cut off and its airspace closed because of the smoke and thick plumes of volcanic ash moving through the atmosphere.

Mr Gonsalves said thousands of residents had been sleeping in emergency shelters since Friday. “It’s a huge operation that is facing us,” he told NBC News.

He said earlier that a lot of volcanic ash had fallen over the sea. “We don’t know how much more is going to come out… so far, we have done well in that nobody got injured, nobody is dead.”

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The Barbados Defence Force has been deployed to St Vincent to provide humanitarian assistance as part of a disaster response mission, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said.

Homes across the island, which has a population of around 110,000, have been covered in white-coloured volcanic dust and rock fragments.

It prompted warnings from officials to stay indoors, while emergency groups advised caution for those suffering with respiratory problems.

“Be careful all. We are covered in ash and strong sulphur scents pervade the air. We ask that you take the necessary precautions to remain safe and healthy,” Nemo said.

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How is the wider region being affected?

On Barbados, Chief Medical Officer Kenneth George advised residents to “stay in your house”. “This is to protect yourselves and your family,” he said.

People on the island of St Lucia, which is around 76km north of St Vincent, have been warned to expect air quality to be affected, with harmful gases potentially making it harder to breathe for people with conditions such as asthma, the island’s Rodney Bay Medical Centre said.

A satellite image following the La Soufrière volcano eruption on the island of St Vincent on 9 April, 2021image copyrightReuters
image captionA satellite image of the moments following an eruption of the La Soufrière volcano on Friday

One resident of St Lucia, Olivia, told the BBC she had never witnessed anything like this before and that she was worried about a possible change in wind direction and ash being carried northwards.

“I am terrified of all the effects that are unknown at this point, ash in the middle of a pandemic – no-one is prepared for that,” she said.

“Victoria Hospital has been transformed to become the Respiratory Hospital, and is treating Covid patients” she said, adding: “So technically, persons suffering from the effects of ash inhalation would be on the wards with Covid patients.”

More than 130 people who were due to leave St Vincent for Canada had to be taken by ship to St Lucia on Saturday after becoming stranded when their flight was cancelled.

Other Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Guyana, have offered to send emergency supplies to St Vincent. They also said they would open their borders to those fleeing the fallout from the eruption.

When did the new eruptions begin?

The volcano had been dormant since 1979, but in late 2020 it started spewing steam and smoke and making rumbling noises.

The first sign that an eruption was imminent came on Thursday evening, when a lava dome became visible on La Soufrière.

Just before 09:00 on Friday (13:00 GMT), seismologists from the University of the West Indies confirmed that an “explosive eruption” was under way.

The post La Soufriere Eruption: 16,000 Evacuated,Power Cuts and Ash Cover St. Vincent, Massive Cloud Heads to Barbados appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Woman 'absolutely distraught' after mother's ashes stolen in Melbourne

A woman has issued a public appeal after her mother's ashes were stolen from inside her car in inner Melbourne.

Police are investigating the theft, which occurred in Richmond some time between 7pm on Friday and midday Saturday.

The ashes were stored inside a small blue container placed inside a white box in Grace Daley's red Mazda 3 sedan.

Several other items, including a box of photos, were stolen from the sedan while it was parking at the rear of a home on Murphy Street.

Mother's ashes, Victoria

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"I was quite inconsolable yesterday and quite emotionally drained – feeling like I've let mum down a little bit too, with being the one holding on to the ashes," Ms Daley told 9News.

"Then having to ring family and tell them, particularly my brother and my dad, that the ashes were gone, and the photos of mum were gone in the car. That was particularly difficult."

Ms Daley's mother died of breast cancer at the start of Melbourne's coronavirus lockdown so didn't get a proper funeral.

The family were waiting to give her a memorial service and release the ashes as a final show of respect.

"She wanted them to be spread in the Black Spur behind Hillsville of the mountains. I really want these ashes back so I can do that for mum," Ms Daley said.

In a Facebook post to a Richmond neighbourhood page, she described being "absolutely distraught" over the lose.

"If you took them (or know who did), I don't care about miscellaneous things. Keep them!" she wrote.

The ashes of Ms Daley's mother were stolen from her red Mazda 3 sedan.

"But please return my mum's ashes and photos, I'm begging you."

headline

Teenagers charged following fatal stabbing of 16-year-old

Two teenagers have been charged following the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old in Queensland.

Police arrested two teenage boys in Brisbane's north today.

"A 16-year-old Mango Hill boy has been charged with one count of murder and a 17-year-old Wooloowin boy has been charged with one count of accessory after the fact to murder," Queensland Police said in a statement.

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A teenager has died after being stabbed in the centre of Brisbane.

Both teenagers have been denied bail and have been remanded in custody to appear at the Brisbane Children's Court.

Police will allege that around 8pm on April 8, an altercation occurred between two 16-year-old boys, which resulted in one of the teens sustaining a fatal stomach wound.

READ MORE: Woman charged after two people stabbed during argument in Surfers Paradise

Police will also say the pair were known to each other.

Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said the investigation was ongoing and continued to appeal for public information.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Residents on alert after mystery shooting on suburban Sydney street

A suburban street in Sydney's south was flooded by police after shots were fired and a stray bullet struck a home in a shooting overnight.

Residents in Park Street, Campsie remain startled, unsure why their street was targeted about 10pm yesterday.

One bullet hit the top of resident Georgina Geha's home.

"I heard two big bangs," Ms Geha told 9News.

"I thought at first it was someone drunk, playing knock and run … it was scary thinking that just a few inches above, my brother was sitting on the upstairs lounge.

Police swarm Park Street in Campsie after a shooting.

"That could have been a whole different story today."

Witnesses told 9News they heard shouting from outside a nearby unit block.

One woman was so scared by the incident she grabbed her young children and hid.

Police combed the street with torches last night, searching for cartridges from two rounds.

"It felt like an army was walking through," Ms Geha said of the police presence.

"We don't know who the target was or why it happened. It's scary, it's so close to home."

Police investigations are continuing.

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Cold snap sees heavy snowfall in Victoria

Australia's east coast is experiencing bitterly cold temperatures just days after an unseasonably hot Easter weekend.

Snow has fallen in parts of Victoria as the state was battered with rain and harsh winds.

This morning was particularly icy, dropping to about 8C in the coldest start to the day since October last year.

READ MORE: Woman 'absolutely distraught' after mother's ashes stolen in Melbourne

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Temperatures plunged down from 30C on Thursday to 16C yesterday.

Snow has fallen across several mountains, including Falls Creek, Baw Baw, Mt Buller, Lake Mountain and Mount Donna Buang.

Mt Baw Baw recorded 22cm of snow overnight.

READ MORE: WA residents prepare for imminent landfall of tropical cyclone Seroja

The heavy fall saw the Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort advise people against travelling to the popular ski spot.

Rainfall was heaviest in Melbourne's east, with Ferny Creek and Monbulk recording about 60mm.

The Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges and East Gippsland also received substantial downpours.

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Falls Creek also saw a huge amount of early snowfall.

A cold front is moving over the south-east of the country, with Tasmania and South Australia also experiencing frosty temperatures.

Melbourne is expected to stay below 20C for the week, but will become finer at the weekend.