Two dead, one missing in devastating NSW fires.

A father and son are dead after fighting to save property in the southern NSW village of Cobargo on Tuesday, and another man is feared dead, after terrifying bushfires ripped through the region, destroying homes and forcing thousands of holidaymakers to shelter on beaches.

Locals seek respite on the beach at Batemans Bay. 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejilian confirmed the tragic deaths on Tuesday afternoon.

They follow Tuesday morning’s confirmation that a newlywed firefighter who was expecting his first child had also died in a freak ‘firestorm’ that flipped his truck.

“We can say certainly that the two men at Cobargo are residents of Cobargo,” Ms Berejiklian said. “A father and son, we believe. Very tragic set of circumstances. Obviously trying to their best with the fire as it came through in the early hours of the morning.

Read the story from The New Daily by Samatha Maiden - “Two dead, one missing in devastating NSW fires.”

Are more Aussie trees dying of drought? Scientists need your help spotting dead trees

Most citizen science initiatives ask people to record living things, like frogs, wombats, or feral animals. But dead things can also be hugely informative for science. We have just launched a new citizen science project, The Dead Tree Detective, which aims to record where and when trees have died in Australia.

As climate change threatens Australian trees,
it’s important to identify which are at risk. 

The current drought across southeastern Australia has been so severe that native trees have begun to perish, and we need people to send in photographs tracking what has died. These records will be valuable for scientists trying to understand and predict how native forests and woodlands are vulnerable to climate extremes.

Read the piece from The Conversation - “Are more Aussie trees dying of drought? Scientists need your help spotting dead trees.”

One dead as ‘horrendous’ rain hits Sydney

One person is dead, two police officers have been injured and almost 130 flights cancelled after a month’s worth of rain was dumped on Sydney in just two hours.

Floodwaters in Lewisham on Wednesday morning.

A series of thunderstorms battered the NSW coast from Newcastle down to Wollongong on Wednesday morning, causing havoc for commuters and emergency services.

The weather bureau warned more rain and hail was likely later in the day, as authorities urged people to think about alternatives for their afternoon commute or school pick-up.

Read The New Daily story - “One dead as ‘horrendous’ rain hits Sydney.”

Philippines storm: At least 120 dead after tropical storm Tembin triggers flash flooding, landslides.

At least 120 people are dead and more than 160 missing after a tropical storm devastated the southern Philippines, unleashing flash flooding and setting off landslides.

Police officers help with rescue efforts, holding the hands
 and belongings of two women in rising floodwaters.

Most of the deaths from tropical storm Tembin were in the hard-hit provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and on the Zamboanga Peninsula, according to an initial government report on storm casualties.

Romina Marasigan, of the government's disaster response agency, earlier said authorities had reported at least 75 deaths were due to landslides and sudden surges of floodwaters, but added those initial reports needed to be confirmed.

An entire village was buried by a mudslide, according to reports.

Read the ABC News story - “Philippines storm: At least 120 dead after tropical storm Tembin triggers flash flooding, landslides.”

Great Barrier Reef will be dead by 2100, says David Attenborough's Blue Planet II

London: Coral reefs – including Australia's Great Barrier Reef – will be dead by 2100 due to human "maltreatment of the oceans", David Attenborough's Blue Planet II has declared.

Sir David Attenborough - he says the Great Barrier Reef
will be dead by 2100 due to our maltreatment of the oceans.  

Attenborough's follow-up documentary series, which took four years to film and produce, finished airing in Britain on Sunday night (local time). It ended with his grim warning about the state of our oceans, which Attenborough said were "under threat now as never before.”

He said climate change, plastic pollution and over-fishing were all contributing to the demise of coral reefs.

Blue Planet II has been Britain's most-watched show of 2017, with 14 million tuning into the first episode of the wildlife series. Nine will air the seven-part series on free-to-air television in Australia in 2018.

Read Latika Bourke’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Great Barrier Reef will be dead by 2100, says David Attenborough's Blue Planet II.”