Tag Archives: oceania

Looming flood crisis declared 'major emergency' by SA Premier

The South Australian premier has declared a major emergency as floodwaters in the River Murray continue to rise.

The looming flooding crisis is being worsened by a dangerous combination of conditions across the state including huge wind gusts.

Premier Peter Malinauskas officially declared the weather event a major emergency and the state's Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has been given extra powers.

READ MORE: Three states in firing line as chaotic weather continues

The River Murray is already swollen and expected to rise further prompting the South Australian premier to declare a 'major emergency'.https://twitter.com/9NewsAdel/status/1594553597500751878

Wind gusts of up to 100km/h have already lashed Adelaide and the state's south-east this morning, including parts of the Riverland where record-breaking flooding is expected to strike communities.

The River Murray has already swollen to dangerous levels, with concerns the weather event could turn deadly.

More than a million sandbags as well as eight kilometres of a specialist flood barrier have been deployed to the Riverland region to help residents prepare.

https://twitter.com/NSWSES/status/1594495342787297281?s=20&t=vQHukcwKMM-Qe1cS9lHAGA

New South Wales 

Despite relatively dry conditions across the country today dozens of flood warnings remain in place across three states.

New South Wales has continued to experience major flooding in almost every river system west of the divide.

At Forbes, crews are conducting rapid damage assessments after the community was swallowed by the deluge.

Waters are expected to peak at Condobolin by Wednesday before they eventually move downstream to Eurabalong.

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The state's current flooding event is now in its 68th day.

Condobolin residents have been warned they will likely see the worst flooding event on record this week after an already devastating 12 months.

In Eugowra, the clean-up effort is well underway, mostly thanks to community volunteers and emergency service personnel.

Some 200 cars are expected to be recovered from the deluge.

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https://twitter.com/vicemergency/status/1594453739024236544?s=20&t=HgzR7jIj4cO7wn4E53GX4g

Victoria

Meanwhile, in Victoria, there are almost 20 flood warnings currently in place.

A summary of those warnings can be viewed here.

In the 24 hours to 6am today, Victoria's State Emergency Service received 491 pleas for help from communities.

These included 313 downed trees, 40 calls relating to building damage, and 17 incidents relating to flood.

Hundreds call for help as wild winds smash south-east Australia

Australia's wild weather continues, hammering much of the nation's south-east with gale-force winds, while the mountains cop a November blanketing of snow, and fresh flood warnings hit rivers.

Hundreds of Sydneysiders have called for help as wild winds smash the city, as well as much of coastal NSW, the ACT, most of Victoria and eastern parts of South Australia.

In NSW, Thredbo recorded gusts of 102km/h, while Albion Park copped 81km/h and Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour recorded gusts of 78km/h, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Hundreds of Sydneysiders have called for help as wild winds smash the city.

Colac in Victoria recorded 100km/h gusts, with 98km/h felt at Essendon Airport in Melbourne.

Over the past day, NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) received more than 270 storm-related calls for help, with at least 150 requests involving trees being blown over.

Others were for roof damage as far south as the Illawarra.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns told people to secure or move items which could be blown away, such as trampolines, and beware of parking cars under trees.

"Residents can prepare for winds by removing tree branches over buildings, and ensuring roofing is in good order," he said.

Yesterday, roofs were blown from homes, trees flung across roads and powerlines brought down after winds of up to 100km/h battered large parts of NSW and Victoria.

Hundreds of Sydneysiders have called for help as wild winds smash the city.

In NSW, warnings remain in place for the Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and parts of Central Tablelands, Riverina, Hunter and Central West Slopes and Plains forecast districts.

In the Central West of the state, crews are still helping in flood stricken areas.

The Lachlan River at Condobolin peaked on Sunday at a near-record 7.59 metres, just below the predicted 7.8 metres.

International helpers from New Zealand remain at the incident control centre at Parkes, while flood rescue operators from Singapore are assisting in Deniliquin and to communities along the Lachlan River.

Today, Kearns said there were 102 warnings across the state, including 12 emergency warnings related to flooding.

"More than 1000 damage assessments have been undertaken in Forbes, where more than half have experienced some level of damage," he said.

Two flood rescues have been carried out in the past 24 hours.

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Late spring snow

At Perisher, in the NSW Snowy Mountains, a whopping 17 centimetres of snow fell overnight – just days out from summer.

"As we wake on Monday 21st of November we are pleasantly surprised to see 17cm of fresh snow covering our resort," a Perisher spokesperson said.

"We are only 10 days out of summer and we are experiencing sub-zero temperatures and snow."

READ MORE: Thousands of South Australian homes without power after storms

Victorian warnings

In Victoria, the wind warnings extend to residents in Central, East Gippsland, South West, Northern Country, North Central, North East, West and South Gippsland, Wimmera and parts of Mallee Forecast Districts.

"Damaging west to southwesterly winds averaging 50km/h to 70km/h with peak gusts up to 110km/h are likely along much of the Central and Gippsland districts today, including Melbourne," the bureau said.

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https://twitter.com/BOM_Vic/status/1594536642211192835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

People living in affected areas have been told to secure loose items outside their homes, avoid parking under trees and to stay across weather updates.

Flooding continues in the state's north.

South Australia emergency

Meanwhile, more than 800 people in South Australia remained without power this morning after storms lashed the state.

The number of outages peaked at about 13,000 over the weekend after wind gusts averaging up to 80km/h felled electricity poles and damaged other infrastructure.

The outages are expected to be restored by the end of the day.

Meanwhile the South Australian premier has declared a major emergency as floodwaters in the River Murray continue to rise.

The looming flooding crisis is being worsened by a dangerous combination of conditions across the state including huge wind gusts.

Queensland heat

Brisbane residents sizzled through a high of 34 degrees today.

The steamy conditions will linger over the state's north state in the coming days, prompting the bureau to issue a heatwave warning.

"Maximum temperatures in the mid-30s to around 40 degrees and minimum temperatures in the mid-20s are expected over northern Queensland for much of the next week," the bureau said.

"Heatwave conditions (will continue) increasing early in the week, easing during next weekend."

The sweltering conditions, mixed with extreme winds, has seen the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services also issue an extreme fire danger warning for all of Brisbane, South-Eastern, and part of the North Coast region.

Fallen trees create traffic chaos as wild weather continues across Victoria

Wild weather has wreaked havoc across Victoria with strong winds snapping trees, and heavy hail battering homes.

The strong winds have brought down power lines as roads and train lines are cut off causing traffic chaos.

The Victorian State Emergency Service (SES) has responded to more than 1400 callouts and more than 1000 fallen trees since Saturday.

READ MORE: Nationals candidate Shaun Gilchrist was facing sexual assault and rape charges before sudden death

About 90 kilometres east of Melbourne, an elderly man was trapped inside his Drouin home after a tree fell over his unit.

A balcony was also destroyed in Eltham while a man is recovering in hospital after he was struck by lightning in Bendigo.

Multiple train lines are down across Melbourne tonight due to fallen trees, with buses replacing trains on parts of the Sandringham line.

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Hail fell in parts of Victoria.https://twitter.com/metrotrains/status/1594576341231353857

SES State Agency Commander Geb Abbott said due to ground saturation, the risk of trees and powerlines toppling was elevated.

Abbott said strong wind gusts were going to continue over the coming days.

"It's certainly been a wild weekend of weather," she said.

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"It doesn't take much for trees to fall with these conditions."

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds across Victoria on Monday, including metropolitan Melbourne.

Some of the strongest wind gusts were recorded in Victoria, with 119 km/h at Wilsons Promontory, which is about 237km from Melbourne.

'Failed election' after Nationals candidate found dead

Nationals candidate for Narracan Shaun Gilchrist was facing charges of sexual assault and rape before his death at the weekend, days out from the Victorian election.

Voters in the West Gippsland electorate must now go back to the polls at a later dat for a supplementary election.

Police found the 47-year-old's body in bushland on Sunday about 4.15pm, triggering a "failed" election in the seat.

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Despite the supplementary election, voters will still need to cast their ballot for the upper house by Saturday.

"Under Victoria's electoral laws if a candidate dies before 6pm on election day, the election for that district is declared 'failed' and the nomination deposits are returned to all candidates in the district," acting Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming said.

"Votes received to date for Narracan District will be set aside and from this point on only upper house ballot papers for Eastern Victoria Region will be taken and counted."

Gilchrist was due to face the County Court next Wednesday for a directions hearing on three charges of sexual assault and one count of rape, 9News understands.

Nationals leader Peter Walsh today refused to answer any questions surrounding the charges.

"I am not going to get into commentary," he said.

"I am going to respect those specific requests to not talk about these issues at the moment.

"We are talking about the widow and two young children who have lost their father, I am going to respect the request of privacy."

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Narracan is a traditionally safe Liberal seat, located east of Melbourne in Victoria's La Trobe Valley.

The seat, in north-west Gippsland, was being contested as sitting Liberal MP Gary Blackwood is retiring.

Walsh paid tribute to Gilchrist, as did Premier Daniel Andrews. 

"The Victorian Nationals express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr Gilchrist, and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time," Walsh said.

Andrews said the candidate expressed sympathies to the family.

"On behalf of the Victorian government, I offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the National Party's Candidate for Narracan, Shaun Gilchrist," he said.

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Couple nearly run off road after violent road rage attack

The victim of a road rage attack in Melbourne's north has been left "shocked" after he was nearly run off the road by an erratic driver.

Lawrence who has only given permission to use his first name, was travelling with his partner in Roxburgh Park last week, when a Toyota Camry started following them.

The driver threatened the pair before reaching out his window and striking their vehicle with a chain multiple times.

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"He was being aggressive and he said he wanted to kill us, it was very violent to myself and my partner," Lawrence told 9News.com.au.

"It was extremely dangerous we were lucky to not crash into oncoming traffic or a park vehicle."

The victim said he was afraid the driver would do physical harm to himself and his partner.

"It was concerning that he brandished a weapon," Lawrence said.

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"I was so concerned he might have had something else on him so I tried to get to the police station. It was unnerving and I wasn't sure what to do. My priority was to get away from him.

"It was unreal, we tried to lose him and he was driving to erratically that he was on the other side of the road. To the point where he nearly ran us off the road. "

The driver only fled the scene once the couple arrived at a gym and sought assistance. 

Police said they are investigating the incident.

New Chinese ballistic missiles 'built to threaten US'

China has deployed new longer range ballistic missiles on its nuclear submarines, enabling it to strike the US mainland from much nearer its own shores, a top American admiral has confirmed.

New JL-3 missiles, which reportedly have a range of 12,000kms, have been installed in China's six nuclear-powered submarines, news agency Bloomberg reports.

The new missiles raise China's ability to target US territory.

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The previous version, the JL-2, had a range of 7200kms, which meant the submarines carrying them would have to reach waters near Hawaii to threaten the US east coast.

Admiral Sam Paparo, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, revealed the fielding of the new Chinese ballistic missiles during a conference in Washington DC.

"They were built to threaten the United States," he said.

Paparo refused to say if any of the Chinese submarines had carried out so-called deterrence patrols in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.

He was speaking after US President Joe Biden met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for their first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali.

READ MORE: Three states in firing line as chaotic weather continues

Speaking after the meeting, Biden said that when it comes to China the US would "compete vigorously, but I'm not looking for conflict", adding that, "I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War" with the rising Asian nation.

China has not announced the deployment of the JL-3 missile.

But senior US naval commanders warned earlier this year that the longer-range weapon would escalate the nuclear threat from China.

The JL-3 would allow China to target the continental US "from a protected bastion within the South China Sea," US Strategic Command Commander Admiral Charles Richard told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2022.

UK comedian 'shreds almost $20,000' over Beckham's Qatar role

A British comedian appeared to shred £10,000 ($17,700) in a video after failing to receive a response from David Beckham over his controversial role as a Qatar World Cup ambassador.

On Sunday, Joe Lycett began tweeting an hourly countdown until his UK midday deadline.

At 12pm GMT, he posted a video of himself shredding the money on www.benderslikebeckham.com, a website Lycett had been tweeting links to.

READ MORE: Three states in firing line as chaotic weather continues

He later posted it on his social media accounts with the caption "a platform for progress," likely a reference to a statement made by the soccer star in a pre-recorded message at Qatar's Supreme Committee's Generation Amazing youth festival in Doha, where he used those words to describe this year's World Cup.

On November 13, Lycett, who describes himself as queer on his website, posted a video on Twitter, saying he would donate £10,000 to charities supporting "queer people in football" or put the money through the shredder, along with "Beckham's reputation as a gay icon," if the former England captain did not cut ties with Qatar within the week.

Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison.

Beckham did not respond and, in the video posted on his Twitter feed on Sunday, Lycett appeared to put piles of money into an industrial shredder while wearing a rainbow-coloured top.

He then curtsied for the camera and walked away.

The comedian did not immediately respond to CNN when asked to confirm whether he had shredded real money.

Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy recently told CNN that the 2022 World Cup will "be an inclusive, safe tournament" and said "everyone is welcome, regardless of race, background, religion, gender, orientation or nationality."

Earlier this week, world football governing body FIFA referred CNN to the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy for all comment relating to Lycett's criticism of Beckham and Qatar.

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Beckham, contacted by CNN on November 14 through his representatives, declined to comment on the criticism around his ambassadorship.

CNN reached out to his representatives after Lycett appeared to shred money, but did not receive a response at time of publication.

"Qatar dreamed of bringing the World Cup to a place that it had never been before, but that it wouldn't be enough just to achieve things on the pitch," Beckham said at the youth festival.

"The pitch would be a platform for progress.

"Dreams can come true. That is why you are here. You share Generation Amazing's twin passions for the game of football and for making the world a more tolerant and inclusive place."

A report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) published in October documented alleged cases of beatings and sexual harassment while in detention.

According to victims interviewed by Human Rights Watch, security forces allegedly forced transgender women to attend conversion therapy sessions at a "behavioural healthcare" centre sponsored by the government.

"Qatari authorities need to end impunity for violence against LGBT people. The world is watching," Rasha Younes of Human Rights Watch said.

A Qatari official told CNN that the HRW allegations "contain information that is categorically and unequivocally false."

Lycett, however, took aim at Beckham.

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"You're the first Premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like Attitude, to speak openly about your gay fans," Lycett said in last week's video message.

"Now, it's 2022. And you signed a reported £10 million ($17 million) deal with Qatar to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup."

"If you do not, by midday next Sunday, I will throw this money into a shredder just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and stream it live on a website I've registered called benderslikebeckham.com."

Lycett is not the first person or group to criticise Beckham for his ambassadorship.

Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo, who came out as gay last year, told CNN Sport he would like to see Beckham using his platform to support the LGBTQ community instead of promoting the Qatari government.

"If someone like David Beckham with his platform does get around us and becomes an ally that we are wanting him to be, it is really helpful.

"If he could take that next step and show what he means to the LGBTQ community, that would be fantastic."

Hundreds of sheep captured walking in circles for 12 days

Hundreds of sheep in China have been captured walking around in a continuous circle for over 12 days, baffling experts.

CCTV footage from a property in northern China's Inner Mongolia region shows dozens of sheep aimlessly walking around in a near-perfect loop for no apparent reason.

The bizarre behaviour has reportedly been going on for almost two weeks straight.

Watch the eerie footage in the player above. 

READ MORE: Three states in firing line as chaotic weather continue

The strange sight has left experts scratching their heads, with one possible reason for the animals' movements potentially being due to Listeriosis or Circling Disease.

Circling Disease is a localised infection of the brain stem of ruminants by Listeria monocytogenes, which typically results in a lack of control of movement or paralysis.

However, animals who catch the disease normally die one to two days after symptoms first begin.

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Video has shown almost every sheep in the flock joining in on the loop, while some stragglers remain on the outskirts.

Chinese state-run outlet People's Daily, who claim that the sheep are healthy, said that behaviour is a mystery.

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"The great sheep mystery," a social media post said.

"Hundreds of sheep walk in a circle for over 10 days in N China's Inner Mongolia.

"The sheep are healthy and the reason for the weird behaviour is still a mystery."

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'Amazing': Mum hears late daughter's transplanted heart

An Indiana woman heard the heartbeat of her late daughter inside the chest of a 68-year-old Illinois man who received it in a transplant operation.

Amber Morgan and Tom Johnson met for the first time Saturday, four years after he received a heart transplanted from the body of Andreona Williams, who was 20 when she died from asthma complications.

The Indiana Donor Network arranged the rare meeting at a Chicago hotel, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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Amber Morgan, from South Bend, Indiana, listens to the heartbeat of Tom Johnson, from Kankakee.

Morgan listened through a stethoscope that was pressed to Johnson's chest.

“It’s almost like I got to hug my daughter again,” the South Bend, Indiana, woman said.

“As a mother, you listen to your child’s heartbeat when you carry them, and I don’t think you ever ask to hear it again,” Morgan said. “It’s amazing.”

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Johnson of Kankakee, Illinois, said he sent a letter to Morgan in 2019, a year after the transplant at Loyola University Medical Center in suburban Chicago. He wanted to express his gratitude for the family’s decision to donate the heart.

He sent a second letter, too, but did not get a response until recently when Morgan said she would like to meet, especially after her own heart problems.

Johnson had dealt with a weak heart since childhood. Doctors tried a pacemaker and defibrillator before telling him that a transplant was the best solution.

“It opened up a whole new world of possibilities,” Johnson said. “It’s just unbelievable. I mean, I can work out in the garden, ride the bike. My sons can’t believe how quick I can go.”

Johnson's wife, Sharon, said Williams' heart is special.

"He takes very special care of her,” she said. “He never misses his heart medication. Never.”

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