updateAt least seven people, including a 9-year-old girl, have died in the heavy storms that have hit eastern Australia. A firefighter died in the west of the country. Several people are missing.
A 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree on the eastern Gold Coast, south of Brisbane in the state of Queensland. All help also came too late for a 9-year-old girl who was swept away by the water. A man was fatally injured by a falling branch in the town of Caringal, east of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.
Furthermore, a boat with eleven occupants capsized off the coast of Brisbane. Eight people were rescued, two others drowned. A crew member is still missing.
Three women were swept into a storm drain in Gympie, also in Queensland. One woman survived the incident and another was killed. The third woman has not yet been found. In Queensland, about 100,000 households were without electricity due to damage to the power infrastructure.
The Australian Weather Service has been warning of heavy rain and thunderstorms for days. Around Christmas, rain caused flooding in metropolitan Sydney, leaving streets and buildings flooded. The storm would not subside until Wednesday.
Drought and forest fires
Western Australia is ravaged by drought and forest fires. A firefighter has died during an operation near Perth. The young man fell from a fire truck on Tuesday due to an unknown cause. Several fires are raging in the state of Western Australia, of which Perth is the capital. There is an unusual heat wave for this time of year.
A report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February 2022 estimates that Australia will be hit more often by devastating natural phenomena in the future.
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