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☆ Australian authorities urge hundreds to flee uncontained bushfire
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A bushfire in Australia's Victoria state raged out of control on Saturday, with authorities issuing a fresh evacuation alert at the highest danger rating for hundreds of residents in the state's west. The Australian Broadcasting Corp reported on Saturday that three homes and several outbuildings had been destroyed this week in Victoria's bushfire emergency. Around 1,000 firefighters supported by more than 50 aircraft have battled the fires since they started. Australia is currently in the grips of an El Nino weather pattern, which is typically associated with extreme phenomena such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts. The last two bushfire seasons in Australia have been subdued compared with the 2019-2020 "Black Summer" when bushfires destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people and 3 billion animals.

Persons: Vic Organizations: Australian Broadcasting Corp Locations: Australia's Victoria, Ballarat, Melbourne, Amphitheatre, Australia, El Nino, Turkey

☆ Strong Winds Cause Power Outages, Fan Bushfires in Australia's Southeast
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of residents across Australia's Victoria state remained without power on Wednesday after wild weather knocked down transmission lines, forcing a major power plant to disconnect from the grid, while strong winds fanned bushfires. AGL's Loy Yang A power station, responsible for about a third of the state's power, had to shut down on Tuesday afternoon impacting half a million properties, which officials said was one of the largest outages in Victoria's history. Some properties were completely destroyed by fire with the exact number to be confirmed after fire crews finish their rescue efforts. Firefighters are battling to contain three bushfires, but better weather conditions could help crews to contain the fires quickly, Heffernan said. Australia's weather bureau forecast milder conditions on Wednesday with temperatures in the low to mid-20 degree Celsius (68°F) and moderate winds, but warned the risk was not over yet.

Persons: AGL's Loy Yang, Clare O'Neil, We've, O'Neil, Jason Heffernan, Heffernan, Renju Jose, Bill Berkrot Organizations: SYDNEY, Mobile, Federal Home Affairs, ABC, Firefighters Locations: Australia's Victoria, Melbourne, Hotham, Victoria's, Victoria, Sydney

SYDNEY, Oct 3 (Reuters) - A bushfire in Australia's Victoria state more than trebled overnight and authorities urged residents in a remote part of Tasmania state to evacuate as a spring heatwave fanned fires across the country's southeast. Across the Bass Strait in Tasmania state, residents on the northern edge of Flinders Island were told to evacuate from an out of control bushfire. Fires are being stoked by hot, dry winds across southeast as the country experiences an unseasonably hot spring. Australia began spring with its driest September on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with rainfall 71% below the 1961-1990 average. Conditions are expected to change rapidly in Victoria Tuesday afternoon, with heavy rains expected to help douse fires but potentially trigger flash flooding.

Persons: Jason Heffernan, Heffernan, they're, Lewis Jackson, Richard Chang Organizations: SYDNEY, Country Fire Authority, Meteorology, Greater, Thomson Locations: Australia's Victoria, Tasmania, Victoria state's Gippsland, Bass, Flinders, Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Greater Sydney Region, Sydney's

☆ Australia State Swings From Bush Fires to Flash Flooding in 24 Hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Less than 24 hours since residents in parts of Australia's Victoria state fled bush fires, state authorities are now warning of flooding as heavy rain douses flames and lifts rivers in the southeastern state. First responders overnight rescued a farmer in the area who got trapped after driving through floodwaters, according to chief officer operations Tim Wiebusch at Victoria state emergency service. "But over these next 24, 48 hours, flash flooding, riverine flooding is really the key risk. Firefights are still working to contain bush fires in two parts of Victoria state but authorities said there was no immediate threat to nearby residents. State fire authorities said conditions eased overnight although several properties were lost and firefighters still worked to contain the blaze.

Persons: Tim Wiebusch, Lewis Jackson, Aurora Ellis Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian, of Meteorology, Meteorology Locations: Australia's Victoria, Victoria, New South Wales, Bermagui, Sydney . State

☆ Australia state swings from bush fires to flash flooding in 24 hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Less than 24 hours since residents in parts of Australia's Victoria state fled bush fires, state authorities are now warning of flooding as heavy rain douses flames and lifts rivers in the southeastern state. First responders overnight rescued a farmer in the area who got trapped after driving through floodwaters, according to chief officer operations Tim Wiebusch at Victoria state emergency service. "But over these next 24, 48 hours, flash flooding, riverine flooding is really the key risk. Firefights are still working to contain bush fires in two parts of Victoria state but authorities said there was no immediate threat to nearby residents. State fire authorities said conditions eased overnight although several properties were lost and firefighters still worked to contain the blaze.

Persons: Tim Wiebusch, Lewis Jackson, Aurora Ellis Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian, of Meteorology, Meteorology, Thomson Locations: Australia's Victoria, Victoria, New South Wales, Bermagui, Sydney . State

☆ Bushfires in Parts of Southeast Australia Amid Spring Heatwave
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Lewis JacksonSYDNEY (Reuters) - A bushfire in Australia's Victoria state more than trebled overnight and authorities urged residents in a remote part of Tasmania state to evacuate as a spring heatwave fanned fires across the country's southeast. "It is quite a large fire spread across a large area. Across the Bass Strait in Tasmania state, residents on the northern edge of Flinders Island were told to evacuate from an out of control bushfire. Fires are being stoked by hot, dry winds across southeast as the country experiences an unseasonably hot spring. Australia began spring with its driest September on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with rainfall 71% below the 1961-1990 average.

Persons: Lewis Jackson SYDNEY, Jason Heffernan, Heffernan, they're, Lewis Jackson, Richard Chang Organizations: Country Fire Authority, Meteorology, Greater Locations: Australia's Victoria, Tasmania, Victoria state's Gippsland, Bass, Flinders, Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Greater Sydney Region, Sydney's

☆ Australian state to pay $243 mln for withdrawing as 2026 Commonwealth Games host
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Victoria state will pay A$380 million ($243 million) to Commonwealth Games organisers, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday, after it withdrew as 2026 event host citing a projected cost blowout. In a joint statement issued by Andrews on Saturday, the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships, Commonwealth Games Australia and Victoria said they had "settled all their disputes regarding the cancellation of the multi-hub regional Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games". "The State of Victoria has agreed to pay the Commonwealth Games parties ... AUD $380 million," the statement said. "The parties also agreed that the multi-hub regional model was more expensive to host than the traditional models." ($1 = 1.5620 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, Andrews, Victoria, Sam McKeith, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, Commonwealth Games, Victoria Premier, Victoria, Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships, Commonwealth Games Australia, Thomson Locations: Victoria, Alberta, Sydney

☆ No quick fix to reverse Antarctic sea ice loss as warming intensifies, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Penguins are seen on an iceberg as scientists investigate the impact of climate change on Antarctica's penguin colonies, on the northern side of the Antarctic peninsula, Antarctica January 15, 2022. There's no quick fix to replacing this ice," said Caroline Holmes, polar climate scientist at British Antarctic Survey and one of the study's co-authors. The precise impact of climate change on Antarctica and the surrounding ocean has been uncertain and scientists have struggled to measure how much global warming is affecting the thickness of Antarctic ice. "Antarctica is fragile as an environment, but extreme events test that fragility," he said. "What we're deeply concerned about is the increase in intensity and frequency of extreme events and the cascading influences that they have in other areas."

Persons: Natalie Thomas, Caroline Holmes, Tim Naish, " Naish, Martin Siegert, Siegert, David Stanway, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Penguins, REUTERS, Environmental, Antarctic Survey, Antarctic Research, Australia's Victoria University of Wellington, Global, University of Exeter, Thomson Locations: Antarctica, SINGAPORE, New Zealand, Australia

☆ Australia's Victoria pulls out of 2026 Commonwealth Games over cost concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, July 18 (Reuters) - Australia's state of Victoria will not host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected cost overruns, placing the future of the quadrennial multi-sport event in doubt. "Frankly A$6-A$7 billion for a 12-day sporting event, we're not doing that," Andrews said at a media conference. Andrews said Victoria had already informed the global Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) but the cost of breaking the 2026 contract had yet to be decided. The CGF did not provide immediate comment but local body Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) said the pull-out was "beyond disappointing". The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), which had spoken of the 2026 Games as a "runway" for hosting the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, said it was "an enormous disappointment" for the athletes.

Persons: Victoria Premier Dan Andrews, we're, Andrews, Victoria, Craig Phillips, John Coates, Chris Minns, CGF, Ian Ransom, Christian Schmollinger, Stephen Coates, Peter Rutherford Organizations: MELBOURNE, Victoria Premier, Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Australia, First Nations Australians, Birmingham, Australia, Games, Australian Olympic, New Zealand Olympic, Olympic, Sydney, South, Thomson Locations: Victoria, Australia, Britain, South Africa, Coast, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland, New South Wales, NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Hamilton

☆ Progressives returned for third term in Australia's Victoria state poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The progressive government of Australia's Victoria state won re-election on Saturday, clearing the way for spending on infrastructure, education and healthcare. After eight years in power, centre-left Labor was tipped to defeat its Liberal-National coalition opposition, and the government, led by Daniel Andrews, was comfortably returned at Saturday's poll. "I'm humbled and so grateful, so so grateful, that Victorians have re-elected a majority Labor government," Andrews told ABC television on Sunday morning. Four years ago, Labor returned to power in a landslide, winning just under two-thirds of seats, but polling in the final days of this campaign had suggested a tighter race. Victoria, with its capital of Melbourne, is Australia's second most populous state after New South Wales.

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