Category: Australian flooding

How the Purple Fairywrens Survived Extreme Floods: Bird Expert

The resilience of the iconic Australian birds—purple-crowned fairywrens—who were found alive and well four months after extreme flooding despite all their nests being washed away is noteworthy, according to researchers. The Western Australian floodings at the start of the year brought heavy rain and swelled the nearby Fitzroy River to nearly 15.81 meters (52 feet)…


Resilient Purple Fairywrens Survive Record Flooding

Bird researchers are relieved to find that the majority of the endangered purple-crowned fairywrens (Malurus coronatus), a small, social bird found in dense Australian vegetation, survived one of the region’s worst flooding in January and were still breeding. Western Australia entered a state of emergency when ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie inundated the Kimberley region with unprecedented flooding,…


Flooded Town’s Long Road to Recovery in Australian State

Six months after floods devastated the Victorian town of Rochester, around half its residents face a winter living in sheds and caravans as they rebuild their homes. A further 150 are still in a temporary accommodation village in nearby Elmore. Former mayor and Rochester Community Recovery Committee chair Leigh Wilson said while community members pushed…


Western Australia’s ‘Worst Flooding Ever Seen’ Spurs Visit From PM

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is joining Premier Mark McGowan to witness first-hand the devastation wrought by the once-in-a-century flood to the Kimberly region in Western Australia. The tour will be centred around Fitzroy Crossing, a small desert town that bore the brunt of the flood waters dumped by ex-tropical cyclone Ellie. The waters of…


Western Australian Towns to Be ‘Islands’ in Flooded North

Residents in two major Western Australian towns have been warned their communities are about to become islands, amid the state’s worst flooding on record. A 50 km wide inland sea is surging towards the Kimberley coast after the swollen Fitzroy River devastated the town of Fitzroy Crossing earlier in the week. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson…


Towns to Be Cut Off by Record Flooding in Western Australia

Residents in Broome and Derby have been warned their towns are likely to be cut off by flooding, as authorities continue to evacuate people from Western Australia’s (WA) Kimberley region. Fitzroy Crossing and dozens of Indigenous communities have already been hit by record flooding and WA’s only road transport route to the north of the…


Australian Town Sees 2nd Flood in a Fortnight, Residents Ordered to Evacuate

Residents in the New South Wales (NSW) rural town of Forbes have been issued their second emergency flood evacuation warning in two weeks as major flash flooding occurs throughout the state. The State Emergency Services (SES) changed its warning for people in Forbes and the surrounding areas to evacuate before 7 a.m. because the nearby…


NSW on Flood Watch as More Rain Expected

Nearly 70 flood warnings are in place across New South Wales (NSW) as the focus turns to the far south Riverina region, with more rain expected to lash large areas of the state this week. A low-pressure system bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms is forecast to hit NSW from Wednesday to Friday before weakening and…


Evacuation Order as Flooding Hits Australia’s Southern Most State

People in parts of northwest Tasmania have been ordered to evacuate as rivers rise, potentially to levels comparable to deadly flooding six years ago. Heavy rain across the northern half of the island state began on Wednesday night and is not expected to ease until early Friday morning. Residents of an area stretching from Liena…


Floods Persist as Intense Weather System Soaks Parts of Australia Again

New South Wales (NSW) is in for a soggy weekend as a large cloud band dumps more rain across the state, with more than a dozen rivers set to flood after days of heavy downpours and storms. A trough and cold front will move across the state on Friday, bringing further widespread rain. The Bureau…