This Month
AI shortcuts climate threats to secure Australia’s drinking water
As extreme weather events become more common, UTS’s AI-based tool will be able to better predict raw water quality.
May
Liberals-Nationals peace deal looms but Littleproud’s leadership under pressure
The Liberals agree in-principle to a set of watered-down policy demands by the Nationals; four die in NSW floods, 678 rescues made. Follow live updates.
Parliament to return in July as PM prepares for spring wedding
Anthony Albanese will reconvene parliament on July 22; two people killed in a shooting at a Jewish museum in DC. How the day unfolded.
Ley seeks Nats deal; Minns declares disaster; ASX stocks to watch
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
April
This picture shows the planning system is broken
Construction has begun on a Hawkesbury River housing development first approved 27 years ago under previous flood policies. The Insurance Council says such ‘zombie DAs’ are driving up premiums.
BoM said the sky was clear. Rain and floods told a different story
A huge meat-producing region of the outback, where livelihoods hinge on the weather, is stuck in an enormous Bureau of Meteorology blind spot.
March
Don’t want another Cyclone Alfred? This data says one’s coming
Hot temperatures in the world’s oceans are making storms and cyclones more destructive. Australia is uniquely vulnerable.
Trump slams ‘weak and ineffective’ Malcolm Turnbull
Donald Trump has taken a swing at former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull; Bruce Lehrmann switches solicitor ahead of rape trial. How the day unfolded.
In flood-prone Lismore, an all-too familiar grind
Business owners in the NSW Northern Rivers town are counting the cost of shutting down to prepare for another flood emergency.
Banks deploy mobile branches, generators to cyclone zone
Major banks have sent mobile banking units powered by their own diesel generators to Brisbane, after Armaguard halted cash deliveries to ATMs due to high winds.
Canberra shields insurance companies from cyclone losses
The Australian Cyclone Reinsurance Pool covers insurers for damage when weather is classified as a cyclone – and for 48 hours from the time it is downgraded.
February
Insurers call for $30b flood defence fund to protect properties
After Peter Dutton said he wanted to break up insurers, the industry wants to partner with governments to strengthen infrastructure and relocate the most vulnerable buildings.
Suncorp confident it can rise to challenge of Queensland floods
The deluge will not push up insurance premiums thanks to strong buffers, the CEO of the Brisbane-based insurer said after its interim results impressed.
November 2024
How IAG boss Nick Hawkins weathered the perfect storm
In the past four years, the CEO of the $20b insurance giant has battled both cyclonic conditions and swirling regulators and politicians.
Changing of the Guard cancelled as Storm Bert batters Britain
Homes, schools and businesses were flooded as a month’s rain fell in parts of Britain over the weekend.
Thousands of Spaniards protest bungling of flood response
Huge numbers of angry flood survivors marched in the streets and clashed with riot police to demand the resignation of Valencia’s regional political leader.
Spain flood death toll surpasses 200, rescuers struggle to reach some parts
Rescuers have opened a temporary morgue and battled to reach areas still cut off in Europe’s worst weather disaster in five decades.
Spain flooding death toll rises to at least 158 lives
More horrors emerged from the debris and mud left by the walls of water behind the nation’s most deadly natural disaster in living memory.
October 2024
Spanish floods kill 95 as extreme weather keeps coming
Highway pile-ups and submerged farmland caused chaos in Valencia as a storm – mostly likely caused by climate change – dumped a year’s worth of rain in eight hours.
How insurers failed when flooded customers needed them the most
A parliamentary report has made 86 recommendations to improve claims handling, calling for government intervention to stop new developments on flood plains.