Floods, fire and drought: Australia, a country in the grip of extreme weather bingo

The people of Townsville know about heavy rain, but this was new. Over the past fortnight, the northern Queensland city’s 180,000 residents have been hit by a monsoon strengthened by a low-pressure front that dragged moist air south from the equator to Australia’s top end.

Residents wade through floodwaters in the suburb
of Hermit Park in Townsville this week.

It dumped an unprecedented 1.4 metres of rain in less than two weeks – roughly double what falls on London in a year.

The ensuing chaos has wrecked homes and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to property. Two men have drowned and videos posted to social media have shown crocodiles climbing trees and taking to elevated highways in search of shelter.

But amid the deluge, not everyone heeded the evacuation advice.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Morton and Ben Smee - “Floods, fire and drought: Australia, a country in the grip of extreme weather bingo.”