Storm - Storm deaths in Australia - firefighter dies during operation
At least five people have died in severe storms in eastern Australia. Among them was a nine-year-old girl who was swept away by water in a suburb of Brisbane and washed into the sewers, according to local media reports by the Queensland state police.
A 59-year-old woman who was struck by a tree on the Gold Coast and a man who drowned in the sea after a boat capsized off Brisbane also died in the state. Eight other occupants were rescued, two are still missing.
In the state of Victoria, two people were killed as a result of the storm: In the town of Caringal, east of Melbourne, a man was fatally injured by a falling branch. North of the metropolis, a woman was killed by a falling tree at a campsite.
Around 100,000 households without electricity
In Queensland, around 100,000 households were also without electricity due to storm damage to power lines, the local supplier reported. The Australian Weather Service has been warning for days of heavy rain and thunderstorms on almost the entire east coast. At Christmas, heavy rain caused flash floods in the metropolis of Sydney, leaving streets and buildings under water. Elsewhere it hailed. The storms should subside on Wednesday.
The west of the huge continent, on the other hand, is being hit by drought and bushfires. Southeast of the metropolis of Perth, a member of the volunteer fire department was reported to have died during an operation. The young man fell from a fire engine on Tuesday for reasons as yet unexplained. There are several fires in the state of Western Australia, of which Perth is the capital. Large parts of the state recently experienced an unusual heatwave for the time of year, with record temperatures.
Australia is particularly affected by climate change. A report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February 2022 assumes that the country will be hit even more frequently by devastating natural events in the future.
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The Queensland state police are investigating the tragic death of a young girl in Sydney-like weather conditions in a Brisbane suburb, where she was swept away by water and washed into the sewers.
Despite warnings from the Australian Weather Service about heavy rain and thunderstorms, many people in Sydney still faced the consequences of bad weather, including flash floods that submerged streets and buildings during Christmas.
The Gold Coast, another popular destination in Queensland, also suffered from the severe storms, with a 59-year-old woman killed after being struck by a falling tree and a man drowning in the sea after a boat capsized.
Thunderstorms and extreme rainfall caused electricity outages in many parts of Brisbane and affected over 100,000 households.
As if this wasn't enough, Queensland is also experiencing an unfavorable climate change with more devastating natural events predicted to occur in the future, according to a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Meanwhile, parts of Western Australia, particularly southeast of Perth, are facing drought and bushfires, leading to another fatality in the volunteer fire department with a young man falling from a fire engine during an operation.
In another coastal city, heavy rains and floods insurmounted Brisbane's storm drainage system, leaving residents in low-lying areas wading through floodwaters to escape their homes and help their neighbors.
Source: www.stern.de
