March 2024
Cargo ship issued mayday before hitting US bridge
After being hit, the Francis Scott Key Bridge buckled and collapsed into the river below. Two people were rescued, six were missing.
- Updated
- Lea Skene
February 2024
Telstra dials up phone connections for natural disasters
The telco says it has found “the basic architecture” for an emergency roaming system to connect mobiles in regional areas during floods and bushfires.
- Jenny Wiggins
December 2023
Cancelled holidays hit Queensland tourism operators
Tourism operators around Cairns and Port Douglas are expected to lose $125 million as holidaymakers cancel their summer plans.
- Tess Bennett and Sarah Mitchell
November 2023
NSW home insurance bills to be slashed under levy change
NSW Premier Chris Minns will scrap a levy that funds the state’s emergency services, which has added up to 40 per cent to some home and contents insurance bills.
- Updated
- Samantha Hutchinson
June 2023
Drought? Bushfires? Blackouts? July will tell on El Niño
“We’re leading into this event with record high ocean temperatures and that is largely taking a bit of a step into the unknown”, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
- Ben Potter
May 2023
Tight exclusion zone remains after massive Sydney blaze
A badly damaged section of the inner Sydney building mostly destroyed by fire moved 70mm overnight as police and specialist firefighters warn it could collapse at any moment.
- Kathryn Magann
- Opinion
- Review
How the new iPhone could save your life one day
Roughly two-thirds of the Australian landmass has no mobile phone coverage. But it does have satellite data coverage, and that’s all you need to dial 000.
- John Davidson
April 2023
Stop using army for floods and fires, defence review says
Increased use of the military to help with natural disaster relief is detracting from its ability to defend Australia, the Defence Strategic Review says.
- Phillip Coorey
November 2022
- Updated
- Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo reopens after five lions escape
Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is open for business after five lions escaped their enclosure, sparking an emergency lockdown at the iconic tourist attraction.
- Updated
- Maureen Dettre
October 2022
Flooding disrupts major Victorian agricultural companies
Loss of power and road access are the biggest challenges as the floodwaters, described as “a slow-moving beast”, hit production and raise the spectre of higher food costs.
- Gus McCubbing
July 2022
Perrottet doubles ADF troops on ground as flood risk rises
Some parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean region have received more than four times their usual July rainfall within a couple of days.
- Samantha Hutchinson and Georgie Moore
March 2022
Natural disaster future fund faces Labor shake-up
The Morrison government has been forced to defend its $4.8 billion emergency fund, which has so far paid out only about $50 million.
- Tom McIlroy
‘Sitting on roofs for a night and a day’: Lismore’s worst-ever flood
An elderly woman has been found dead inside a flooded home in Lismore, in northern NSW, where floodwaters slowly started to recede on Tuesday.
- Tess Bennett
January 2022
Nineteen killed in New York City’s deadliest fire in decades
The toll was the worst in the city since 87 died in a fire at a Bronx nightclub in 1990, and is an early test for the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams.
- Ashley Southall, Grace Ashford and Chelsia Rose Marcius
June 2021
Scientists are teaching drones to hunt down human screams
Researchers at a German institute have created a prototype that can identify human screaming and other signs of distress - but want to use it to save lives.
- Dalvin Brown
May 2021
Shortfall fears as fire rips through Queensland power station
A fire in a turbine hall at the coal-fired Callide power station caused an outage that affected some 400,000 customers and took multiple power units offline.
- Updated
- Angela Macdonald-Smith and Mark Ludlow
Tiger no longer on the loose in Houston
Police say India, the nine-month-old tiger, has been passed around among people who keep exotic animals since it was spotted meandering around part of the Texas city.
- Jesus Jiménez
December 2020
Pandemic drives 38pc drop in hospital walk-ins
A new report on the impact of COVID-19 on Australia's health system shows major changes in hospital visits, prescription use and mental health services.
- Tom McIlroy
September 2020
- Breaking
- Tourism
Eiffel Tower evacuated for several hours after bomb threat
Police barricaded the French landmark after a threat was phoned in but the tower has now reopened.
Victoria got ADF quarantine offer in April
The federal government emailed an offer of defence force support for Victoria's quarantine effort to the Premier's office as early as April, contradicting claims by Premier Daniel Andrews
- Hannah Wootton