Deadly winds in Australia have put a pause on the day-to-day operations.
As reported by the Bureau of Meteorology, heavy rain and intense wind reaching speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour has hit some areas leading to widespread power outages in Southern Australia. This has left thousands of residents without electricity and also led to the death of a 63-year old woman, following the fall of a tree on a cabin at a holiday park on the Victoria-New South Wales border.
This is perhaps part of a global climate imbalance that caused drought in the Amazon.
What Parts of Australia Are Affected?
There are different main places that were affected by the sort. These places include:
1. Tasmania
Most coastal areas in Southern Australia experienced high tides. This was followed by series of warnings to the residents to avoid human casualties that may accompany the dangerous waves and flooding.
The island of Tasmania, to the south of mainland Australia, also experienced severe weather, leaving thousands without power.
Electricity network operator AusNet reported 72 power outages across the south of the country.
“Around 30,000 customers are without power across the state this morning," Tasnetworks, a state-owned power company, said on Facebook on Sunday, 1st of September.
The nation's weather forecaster said on its website that a cold front over Tasmania, which has a population of roughly 600,000 people, was moving away, "although bands of showers and thunderstorms continue to pose a risk of damaging wind gusts.”
Further, Tasmania’s emergency management minister, Felix Ellis, said in a televised media conference that, “properties, power lines and infrastructure had been damaged,” adding that "the damage bill is likely to be significant".
“There is potential for properties to be inundated, and roads may not be accessible," executive director of Tasmania State Emergency Service, Mick Lowe, said in a statement.
2. Sydney
One person has died and tens of thousands of Australians have been left without power after powerful storms swept across the country's southeast in Sydney, Southern Australia.
Authorities in Australia's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) confirmed that a woman was killed by a falling tree in the early hours of Monday morning, during a night of severe weather. Another man was slightly injured and taken to a nearby hospital.
3. Victoria
In Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, over 140,000 properties were without power as of 8 am on Monday morning.
Parts of the state recorded winds with speed as intense as 146 km per hour on Sunday night and the State Emergency Service received more than 1,000 calls for help, including 800 for fallen trees and 200 for building damage.
Victoria's energy minister, Lily D'Ambrosio, said at a press conference on Monday morning that it was too dangerous to make repairs to fallen power lines in some of the affected areas.
Final Notes
Australia is no stranger to extreme and sometimes fatal environmental conditions, such as the recent deadly storms that swept across the southeast. These powerful winds and heavy rains have disrupted daily life, caused widespread power outages, and tragically claimed a life.
As the country faces the aftermath, the resilience of its communities will be tested once again. Residents are urged to remain vigilant as Australia continues to grapple with the unpredictable forces of nature.