Bruce Lehrmann is at risk of arrest after failing to submit a medical certificate explaining his absence from court on car theft charges.

Lehrmann and his lawyer Zali Burrows missed a date in Hobart Magistrates Court yesterday morning, with the apologetic solicitor later appearing by phone.

Burrows told the court via email that Lehrmann was "not available today due to urgent medical issues slash tests", seeking an adjournment.

READ MORE: Travel chaos looming as thousands of US flights to be scrapped

Police did not oppose the adjournment but also floated the prospect of a warrant for his arrest.

"We have a strong prima facie case," prosecutor Bunewat Keo told the court, of the November 2024 incident.

Magistrate Robert Webster then ordered the warrant, but asked for it to lie in court pending two conditions: the provision of a medical certificate, and that the pair appear in person for a rescheduled hearing on December 4.

READ MORE: US teacher shot by six-year-old student wins $15 million payout

His medical issues were not specified by Burrows, nor was it heard in open court.

Webster urged Burrows to inform her client to submit the medical certificate with haste.

The Magistrates Court confirmed that as of noon today, no certificate had been presented.

In response to request for comment, Burrows told AAP a "professional standards command complaint has been made in respect of the prosecutor", declining to specify details.

Despite his medical issues, Lehrmann was able to appear in the Federal Court on Tuesday on an unrelated matter.

Whether the failure to provide a medical certificate constitutes a violation of the court is within Webster's discretion.

Tasmania Police declined to comment, as the matter remained within the courts, and had yet to confirm the complaint about Keo's conduct.

READ MORE: Musk on the cusp of being first ever trillionaire

In court yesterday, Webster scolded Burrows for her failure to grasp the nature of the proceeding, a Tasmanian hearing known as a "contest mention".

The contest mention allows the parties to discuss evidence and learn their prospects of success before a full hearing, and can result in a changed plea.

Court documents seen by AAP show Burrows was informed at least four times of the contest mention, and specifically that it involved "case management and (testing the) strength of case".

On the day of the hearing, Burrows told the court, both by email and phone hookup, that she misunderstood this.

She also asked that the medical certificate be sealed, and not released to media.

"Why would it be?" Webster replied.

Police allege Lehrmann stole a Toyota Prado at Mountain River in southern Tasmania, and have the car owner's family, several officers and a service station owner lined up to offer evidence.

Lehrmann, a former Liberal staffer, has been the subject of various court matters since a 2019 alleged rape of then-colleague Brittany Higgins at Parliament House.

A trial was abandoned in 2022 due to juror misconduct, but the Federal Court in 2024 found on the balance of probabilities the rape did occur, dismissing his defamation suit against Network Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson.

Lehrmann has appealed the defamation loss.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

A Sydney artist has faith that the "priceless" painting that took her more than 100 hours to complete will be returned after it was taken by someone in just minutes in a suspected case of mistaken street bounty. 

Rachael Egan was in the process of moving home in Erskineville on Tuesday afternoon when the centrepiece of her upcoming solo exhibition disappeared from the footpath.

In the chaos, the 26-year-old did not realise it was missing until she woke up the next morning and thought: "Where on earth is that painting?"

READ MORE: Louvre CCTV system 'had laughable password' leading up to heist

"I moved everything in and out that whole day. We did a lot of rounds from the car, and we would have definitely seen it outside the front," she told 9news.com.au.

"So I think there was like a five- to 10-minute window when it was outside and someone took it. It wouldn't have been outside for very long."

Egan spent 100 hours over several months this year painting the piece and had planned to sell it at her very first solo exhibition in January.

To her, it is priceless. 

"I put a lot of love and labour into that work, and it's the crux of all the other pieces," she said.

"It was the first piece that jump-started the exhibit.

"So it's very important to me, and a very special artwork for me."

The artwork, titled Bliss – field of infinite potential, was born out of a phrase her yoga teacher had said during a class five years ago.

Egan's mind immediately went to the famed Windows wallpaper.

She spent the years honing her techniques and waiting until she was ready to paint it.

READ MORE: Tesla approves pay packet that could make Elon Musk the first trillionaire

Egan felt up to it this year, but an injury to her dominant hand meant she had to wait another six months to get started.

When she was finally able to pick up the paintbrush, it took her months to create her take on the Windows wallpaper.

It inspired the rest of the art in her collection.

"My exhibit is an exploration of fields with infinite potentials, but some literal like that, and then others very abstracted," she said.

Egan has posted up flyers around the street, spoken to neighbours and shared her art on her social media, @unsoftserve, to help reunite her with her painting. 

She is convinced it will be returned, believing someone had mistaken it for an item destined for council pickup.

"I know it was an innocent mistake, I'm sure someone fully just took it with street bounty, it wasn't actually intentionally stolen," she said.

"I just really have faith that whoever took it will see this and will return it to me, and they can come to my exhibit because they obviously liked my artwork."

READ MORE: Comedy legend Ben Elton says social media ban makes him 'proud Australian'

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

It's the smoking gun behind the most spectacular heist this side of the Millennium.

A French court has released a report slamming the leadership of the Louvre Museum in Paris for its focus on headline-grabbing purchases and renovation projects over maintaining the security of one of the world's largest museums.

The audacious daytime robbery last month, which saw four men walk away with priceless historic jewellery, was a "deafening alarm signal," Pierre Moscovici, president of the Court of Accounts, which authored the report, told journalists on Thursday.

READ MORE: Travel chaos looming as thousands of US flights to be scrapped

Echoing the report, which was commissioned before the October 19 heist, he said that the museum leadership had prioritised "visible and attractive" projects, such as art purchases and revamping the museum layout at the detriment, notably, of the Louvre's security.

Since the heist, information has resurfaced showing that gaps in security appear to have been known for years – including a 2014 warning that alleged one of the museum's key passwords was simply "LOUVRE."

The new report only adds to a number of security failings exposed by the heist.

So what went wrong?

Eyes on

Within four minutes of arriving at the outside wall of the Louvre, the thieves had scaled the building and were breaking through a window.

Only then were internal alarms triggered.

Four minutes later, after breaking into a reinforced case and grabbing nine pieces of historic jewellery, the thieves were making their escape.

READ MORE: US teacher shot by six-year-old student wins $15 million payout

"The weaknesses of the protection of our perimeter are known and identified," Louvre director Laurence des Cars told French politicians after the heist.

Internally too, the situation seems stark.

For the Louvre's 465 museum galleries, security staff had only 432 CCTV cameras to monitor the interior last year, according to the report.

While that's a nearly 50 per cent increase on the number available in 2019, it still left 61 per cent of the galleries without any CCTV coverage.

The world's largest museum, the Louvre covers some 60,000 square metres.

In comparison, the Detroit Institute of Arts in the northern US boasts a similar footprint (including a theatre and recital hall) but has more than 550 CCTV cameras, according to camera manufacturer Axis.

READ MORE: Musk on the cusp of being first ever trillionaire

Des Cars told French senators that she envisions a doubling of the number of cameras within the 37-hectare Louvre property in the years to come.

In its recommendations, the Court of Accounts' report stressed the need for the Louvre to "strengthen its internal control function, which remains underdeveloped for an institution the size of the Louvre."

Foolproof cybersecurity

The holes in the Louvre's security weren't all physical. In the virtual realm its track record left much to be desired.

A 2014 report from the French information security agency (ANSSI) seen by French newspaper Liberation claimed that the password for the server managing the museums' sprawling CCTV network was simply "LOUVRE."

Access to software managed by the security technology company Thales was protected by a similarly foolproof password: "THALES" – according to Liberation.

In the security audit, ANSSI reportedly recommended the Louvre boost its cyber security as well as move away from outdated software that could jeopardise its protective stance.

ANSSI did not deny the report to CNN but added that the audit, "cannot be considered representative of the current level of security" of the Louvre's IT systems.

Bling, bling

The report focused on the museum's budgetary priorities in recent years, which saw some 27 million euros ($48 million) spent on maintenance works between 2018 and 2024, with a further 60 million euros on restoration of the Louvre palace.

In contrast, that period saw the Louvre splash double that figure on altering the museum layout and buying up artworks.

The museum spent 105 million euros on artworks in the six years to 2024, sweeping up 2754 pieces in that time.

In 2021, the Louvre spent some 5 million euros on two works by French Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. This April, the Louvre made a 2.2-million euro purchase of an "exceptional" Fabergé triptych.

Many of the Louvre's purchases are clouded in a certain secrecy, particularly regarding the purchase price. The Court of Accounts' report said the Louvre should pay greater attention to the price of acquired works and specifically warned the museum against buying art works at a higher price if they were sold at auction for less than two years prior.

Heads firmly in place

In contrast to the focus on glitzy, eye-catching purchases, the damning report notes astonishing delays to work on the Louvre's security infrastructure.

Recommended security upgrades from a 2015 audit still won't be completed until 2032, it revealed.

The report examined nearly eight years of museum operations across periods overseen by two executives.

At the time of publication, no executives (or other staff) have been fired or resigned over the theft.

The offer of des Cars to resign as museum director was not accepted by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

A pharmaceutical executive standing behind US President Donald Trump collapsed in the White House during an announcement about weight-loss medication.

The man's legs appeared to suddenly buckle as officials around him attempted to steady his fall and prevent him from hitting his head.

Footage from the drama in the Oval Office on Thursday (Friday AEDT) showed Trump standing from his desk and looking at the man as a White House medical rushed to his aide.

READ MORE: Sydney bank worker charged over $10 million fraud for huge syndicate

He was later identified as Gordon Finlay, a senior executive with Swiss-based pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk.

White House officials quicky ushered reporters and camera crews from the Oval Office.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: "During the Most Favored Nations Oval Office Announcement, a representative with one of the companies fainted. The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is okay. The Press Conference will resume shortly."

The drama came as Trump unveiled a deal with drug companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to expand coverage and reduce prices for the popular obesity treatments Zepbound and Wegovy.

Known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drugs have soared in popularity in recent years but patient access has been a consistent problem because of their cost – about $US500 ($770) a month for higher doses – and medical insurance coverage has been patchy.

READ MORE: FIFA announces new peace prize to be awarded at World Cup draw in Washington

More than 100 million American adults have obesity, according to federal government estimates.

Starting doses of new, pill versions of the treatments also will cost $US149 a month if they are approved.

"(It) will save lives, improve the health of millions and millions of Americans," said Trump, in an Oval Office announcement in which he referred to GLP-1s as a "fat drug."

– With AP

A jury in the US has awarded $US10 million ($15.4 million) to a former teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student, siding with her claims in a lawsuit that an ex-administrator ignored repeated warnings that the child had a gun.

The jury returned its decision against Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia.

Abby Zwerner was shot in January 2023 as she sat at a reading table in her first-grade classroom. She had sought $US40 million ($61.7 million) against Parker in the lawsuit.

READ MORE: Thousands of flights to be cut across US airports amid government shutdown

Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and does not have the full use of her left hand.

A bullet narrowly missed her heart and remains in her chest.

Zwerner did not address reporters outside the courthouse after the decision was announced.

One of her attorneys, Diane Toscano, said the verdict sends a message that what happened at the school "was wrong and is not going to be tolerated, that safety has to be the first concern at school. I think it's a great message."

Parker was the only defendant in the lawsuit.

A judge previously dismissed the district's superintendent and the school principal as defendants.

READ MORE: US Congress members summon Andrew for Epstein probe interview

The shooting sent shock waves through this military shipbuilding community and the country at large, with many wondering how a child so young could gain access to a gun and shoot his teacher.

The lawsuit said Parker had a duty to protect Zwerner and others from harm after being told about the gun.

Zwerner's attorneys said Parker failed to act in the hours before the shooting after several school staff members told her that the student had a gun in his backpack.

"Who would think a six-year-old would bring a gun to school and shoot their teacher?" Toscano told the jury earlier.

"It's Dr Parker's job to believe that that is possible.

"It's her job to investigate it and get to the very bottom of it."

READ MORE: Trump in prime position to win 'peace prize'

Parker did not testify in the lawsuit.

Her attorney, Daniel Hogan, had warned jurors about hindsight bias and "Monday morning quarterbacking" in the shooting.

"You will be able to judge for yourself whether or not this was foreseeable," Hogan said.

"That's the heart of this case.

"The law knows that it is fundamentally unfair to judge another person's decisions based on stuff that came up after the fact.

"The law requires you to examine people's decisions at the time they make them."

The shooting occurred on the first day after the student had returned from a suspension for slamming Zwerner's phone two days earlier.

Zwerner testified she first heard about the gun prior to class recess from a reading specialist who had been tipped off by students.

The shooting occurred a few hours later.

Despite her injuries, Zwerner was able to hustle her students out of the classroom.

She eventually passed out in the school office.

Zwerner testified she believed that she had died that day.

"I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven," Zwerner said.

"But then it all got black. And so, I then thought I wasn't going there.

"And then my next memory is I see two co-workers around me and I process that I'm hurt and they're putting pressure on where I'm hurt."

Zwerner no longer works for the school district and has said she has no plans to teach again.

She has since become a licensed cosmetologist.

Parker faces a separate criminal trial this month on eight counts of felony child neglect.

Each of the counts is punishable by up to five years in prison in the event of a conviction.

The student's mother was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for felony child neglect and federal weapons charges.

Her son told authorities he got his mother's handgun by climbing onto a drawer to reach the top of a dresser, where the firearm was in his mum's purse.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Democrats on a powerful US House of Representatives panel have written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor formally calling on him to submit to questioning in its probe into paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The request came just hours after an even more consequential document was issued: a Letters Patent signed by King Charles stripping his brother of the titles of prince and "his royal highness".

In their letter, Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Mountbatten Windsor's close relationship with Epstein – coupled with a recently leaked email between the pair – "confirms our suspicion that you may have valuable information about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators".

READ MORE: 'He's trying to kill me': Triple 0 call released after murder verdict

Ranking member Robert Garcia and his colleagues also referenced the "appalling allegations" made by Australian-based Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre in her posthumous memoir, flight records showing Mountbatten Windsor in Epstein's plane from 1999 to 2006 and "identified financial records containing notations such as 'massage for Andrew'".

They called on Mountbatten Windsor to make himself available for a transcribed interview with the committee and provide insight into the crimes of Epstein's co-conspirators. 

"It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for procuring minors for prostitution," the politicians wrote.

"It has also been reported that you travelled with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen's residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing minors."

Mountbatten Windsor has not commented but has consistently denied the allegations.

In 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre after she filed a civil suit against him in New York.

READ MORE: Man's shock after parking on lawn at mate's house

While he didn't admit wrongdoing, Mountbatten Windsor did acknowledge Giuffre's suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.

The former prince was given until November 20 to respond.

"Rich and powerful men have evaded justice for far too long. Now, former Prince Mountbatten Windsor has the opportunity to come clean and provide justice for the survivors," Garcia said, in a statement. 

"Oversight Democrats will not stop fighting for accountability and transparency for survivors of Epstein and his gang of co-conspirators."

READ MORE: Mum discharged from hospital hour before home gym birth

The committee chair has strong subpoena powers but they don't belong to Garcia on his own, and would be unlikely to apply to a foreign national.

No one from the Republican majority signed the letter and they were yet to comment this morning. 

The King announced on October 31 that he was removing his brother's titles and evicting him from his royal residence over his relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein.

Demand had been growing on the palace to oust the 65-year-old prince from his Royal Lodge home over new revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed attention on sexual abuse allegations by Giuffre.

That move was made official on Thursday (early Friday AEDT).

"THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 3 November 2025 to declare that Mountbatten Windsor Mountbatten Windsor shall no longer be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of 'Royal Highness' and the titular dignity of 'Prince'," an announcement published Wednesday in The Gazette – the UK's official public record – said.

The Letters Patent is a centuries-old type of document used by monarchs to bestow — and remove — appointments or titles.

The King's decision was welcomed by the family of Giuffre, who died by suicide in April at the age of 41.

She said that in the early 2000s, when she was a teenager, she was caught up in Epstein's sex trafficking ring and exploited by Mountbatten Windsor and other influential men. 

Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019 in what investigators called a suicide.

Mountbatten Windsor is moving from Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he has lived for more than 20 years, into a more remote home funded by his brother on the King's 8100-hectare Sandringham Estate in eastern England.

– Reported with Associated Press.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Comic icon Ben Elton has vehemently supported the Albanese government's looming restrictions on social media and says it has made him a "proud Australian".

He has also argued strongly for net zero and suggested it is time to dump warning labels on alcohol.

Elton has never been the type of man to leave you wondering what he thinks of the world and at times that has made him into something of a trouble magnet.

READ MORE: Fishermen missing in Vietnam as Philippines mourns dead from Typhoon Kalmaegi

https://omny.fm/shows/neil-mitchell-asks-why/comedy-trolls-rock-n-roll-with-ben-elton/embed?style=cover

A dual Australian-British citizen, he lives in Australia and is famous for a cutting-edge style of comedy in TV series like The Young Ones and Black Adder.

That, and for stating views which can irritate mainstream media.

This week on my podcast, Neil Mitchell Asks Why?, he was true to form. 

In a few weeks, laws take force in Australia restricting social media to people over 16.

Although broadly supported, the laws have also been criticised as tokenistic and clumsy.

As is tradition on the podcast, I asked Elton what he would do if he were king of the country – no parliament, no opinion polls.

"I would carry on with what I think is a wonderful, brave decision by the current government to tackle the curse of social media depriving young people of their childhood," he said.

"There's no simple solution to such an invasive and ubiquitous thing, but we have to grasp the nettle.

"And I think I'm proud, as an Australian, that our government, uniquely in the world, has had the guts to stand up to the tech bros and say we will not let children's imaginations be stolen on our watch if we can possibly avoid it."

The danger of climate change, too, would be high on his agenda as it has been for many years.

"I would double down on net zero because I think the fact we aren't the biggest carbon consumer in the world does not negate our responsibility to do our bit for what is undoubtedly an existential crisis facing humanity – which is that we are in the process of destroying our own house, which is the planet we live on."

Elton is an extraordinary talent.

He has written 16 novels and has now released his autobiography, This Is What I've Done.

It covers his early career and success – The Loved Ones was his first TV series – and friendships with people like George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Stephen Fry and Dawn French.

He also explains his fractious relationship with some press and his reaction to unflattering reviews of his work, which also includes five West End plays.

"I've had a fair few pastings in my time. 

"And I think not always fairly, sometimes perhaps fairly, but it's always hurtful. 

"I've never talked about it in the past because it's not of interest to the public.

"Why would they care that I've been kind of personally attacked a fair few times?

"Often what purports to be a review of my work is really a sledging of me. Um, and yeah, it's hard."

For that reason, he refuses to use any social media, although it would be a handy promotional tool.

"Having been trolled in the old media on and off for 40 years, I certainly didn't want to make myself available because now trolling is universal. 

"Now, kids at school get trolled when they turn their phone on."

And a final act as King of the World?

"I would stop putting warnings on alcohol because I love it. And, and whilst I don't mind them doing it with the fags, I'm sick of being told off every time I have a drink.

"You can't have a world which tries to legislate against all things that could be problematic for me.

"Having a drink is a wonderful part of my life.

"I don't consider it to be dysfunctional if it knocks a couple of years off my life, as I'm being told by health experts, it will. I'm telling you, it's only the last two years. 

"And having watched both my parents die, probably a little bit too late, because medical science keeps us all alive longer than our brains or our bodies, frankly, I'm quite happy to miss those two years.

"So yeah, I'd probably draw a line under any more blooming drink responsibly and drink safe adverts because I'm sick of being ticked off every time I have a nice beer at the end of a day's work."

Neil Mitchell's podcast is posted at 6am each Tuesday. 

Typhoon Kalmaegi has lashed Vietnam with fierce winds and torrential rains as it made landfall after leaving more than 100 people dead and dozens missing in the Philippines.

Three fishermen were reported missing on Thursday after their boat was swept away by strong waves on Ly Son, an island in Vietnam's Quang Ngai province. A search operation was launched but later suspended due to worsening weather, state media said.

Authorities said more than 537,000 people were evacuated, many by boat, as floodwaters rose and landslides loomed.

READ MORE: 'He's trying to kill me': Triple 0 call released after murder verdict

Vietnam's central provinces were already reeling from floods due to record-breaking rains. Kalmaegi is forecast to dump more than 600 millimetres of rain in some areas.

An unusually strong storm for the region in November, Kalmaegi packed sustained winds of about 183km/h with gusts reaching up to 220km/h over the South China Sea as it approached Vietnam.

Waves up to three metres high battered the coast in coastal cities like Danang, and strong winds uprooted trees in Dak Lak province. Many homes in Quy Nhon, also a coastal city, were left without power for hours.

The country's financial hub, Ho Chi Minh City, faced a heightened risk of severe floods. High tides were expected on the Saigon River, and authorities warned up to 100 millimetres of expected rainfall could inundate low-lying areas.

READ MORE: Man's shock after parking on lawn at mate's house

State of emergency in the Philippines

Across the central Philippines, Kalmaegi killed at least 114 people and left 127 missing in the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country this year. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr declared a state of emergency on Thursday.

One of the mourners was Krizza Espra, who went Thursday to a mortuary where the bodies of her husband and three children were being held.

They were killed when the roof of their home collapsed in the town of Liloan in the Cebu district of the Philippines.

She said four others in her family — including her mother and aunt — remain missing.

READ MORE: Mum discharged from hospital hour before home gym birth

"I hope someone can help speed up the search for their bodies before (they) decompose, we hope we can still recognise them," she said.

The typhoon displaced more than 560,000 villagers in the Philippines, including nearly 450,000 who were evacuated to emergency shelters, the Office of Civil Defence said.

Marcos' "state of national calamity" declaration allows the government to disburse emergency funds faster and prevent food hoarding and overpricing. Disaster-response officials warned that another tropical cyclone from the Pacific could strengthen into a super typhoon and batter the northern Philippines early next week.

Among the deaths attributed to Kalmaegi were six people who were killed when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday. The crew was on its way to provide humanitarian help to provinces battered by the typhoon, the military said. It did not give the cause of the crash.

Kalmaegi dumped about one-and-a-half months' worth of rainfall in just a day on Tuesday in metropolitan Cebu, state forecaster Benison Estareja said.

It set off flash floods and caused a river and other waterways to swell in Cebu city and outlying towns. The resulting flooding engulfed residential communities, forcing residents to climb onto their roofs, where they desperately pleaded to be rescued as floodwaters quickly rose, provincial officials said.

Rampaging floodwaters submerged or swept away scores of vehicles in Cebu's residential enclaves, in shocking scenes that were caught on camera by residents stranded on roofs.

Storm after storm

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.

Vietnam, which gets about a dozen typhoons and storms a year, has been pummelled by a relentless series this year, leaving little time to recover between disasters.

Typhoon Ragasa dumped torrential rain in late September, then Typhoon Bualoi slammed the central coast and Typhoon Matmo resulted in flooding in the north. Together, the three storms left more than 85 people dead or missing in two weeks, and caused an estimated $US1.36 billion ($2.16 billion) in damage.

Vietnam is among the world's most flood-prone countries, with nearly half its population living in high-risk areas. Scientists warn that a warming climate is intensifying storms and rainfall across Southeast Asia, making floods like this year's increasingly destructive and frequent.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains an image of a person who is deceased.

Three children and a man have died in a horror house fire in central Queensland.

Five-month-old Desmond and two-year-old Maddison were staying with family friends at a duplex on Opal Street in Emerald when the blaze erupted about 6.48am (7.48am AEDT) today.

READ MORE: WA dad wearing nothing but SpongeBob undies takes down alleged carjacker

Two others also died in the fire, including local man Mathew Chilly as well as a teenager.

The children's mother made it out of the duplex alive and was taken to hospital.

The toddlers' great aunt, Sally Woulfe, said the tragedy would affect a lot of families in the small community.

"Desmond was only born five months ago," Woulfe told 9News.

"Maddi, just a bright little girl, just like a normal two-year-old.

"They were loved, they're an Aboriginal family so lots of aunties, lots of uncles."

The children's father was away in Toowoomba for medical treatment.

Investigators are looking at a number of potential causes, including an electric scooter battery.

"We don't actually know what happened yet," Woulfe said.

Senior Sergeant Peter McFarlane said the tragedy would be felt for some time.

"Learning four lives are lost inside, it's been quite traumatic on all emergency services," McFarlane said.

It took fire crews about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control, while some neighbours pulled out garden hoses and water bottles in a desperate bid to douse the flames.

"The intensity of that fire is something that they would not be able to stop or make an effective attack on, but just we really do appreciate their support," Queensland Fire Department Inspector Scott Castree

Premier David Crisafulli described the incident as a "real tragedy".

"I just want to start by saying how incredibly sad it is to see the loss of four lives in that tragic house fire, and how much that will affect the local community," Crisafulli said.

"When you deal with smaller towns, there is no doubt that those connections will be felt and the loss will be felt so deeply.

"The connections of school and support, community groups, emergency services personnel … and the tragedy that it will ripple through that community."

READ MORE: Death toll rises to at least nine in Kentucky cargo plane crash

Crisafulli also expressed sympathy for the families of the victims and the neighbours who witnessed the blaze.

"On behalf of the government, I express my deepest sympathies for what is an incredibly harrowing experience," he said.

Central Highlands Mayor Janice Moriarty said the council was "deeply saddened" by news of the fire.

"Council understands that authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, and we offer our full support and cooperation to responding agencies," Moriarty said in a statement.

"On behalf of the Central Highlands Regional Council and the broader community, our thoughts extend to the family and friends of those impacted."

The family is rallying support through a online fundraising page to help surviving members who have been struck by the tragedy.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Over 30,000 people have reported feeling the quake so far.