Home
Search
thewest.com.au
NewsChevron Right Icon

Natural Disasters

Not Supplied

UpdatedPremiumTragic update for woman missing in floods

After an intensive search, rescue teams have discovered a body in the NSW Hunter Valley, feared to be a young woman lost in rising floodwaters.

Brendan Kearns

Flash flooding and mudslides cleaved through a village in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumFour dead, more than 50 missing in India flash floods

Flash floods have swept away several homes and shops in northern India, killing at least four people.

Staff Writers

Communities could be left without workers to support them after flood events, a union leader has warned. Dean Lewins/POOL/ NewsWire

NewsPremium‘Short sighted’: Fears after latest gov job cuts

Communities could be left without workers to support them, a union leader has warned, after another 300 state government jobs were slashed.

Nathan Schmidt

Secretary of Transport for NSW Josh Murray said the 1250 job cuts are part of a strategy to improve long-term sustainability. NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Natural DisastersPremiumState to slash hundreds of jobs

One of the country’s key water agencies is axing nearly a quarter of its workforce, blindsiding employees and drawing union backlash.

Andrew Hedgman

Up to 200mm of torrential rain is predicted to hit parts of Beijing in just six hours. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumFatal floods keeping Beijing on edge as more rain looms

The risk of flash floods and landslides is "extremely high", people living in mountainous areas to the west and north of Beijing have been warned.

Ryan Woo and Joe Cash

A year's worth of rain has hit Taiwan in a week. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumFour dead as Taiwan lashed by torrential rain

Taiwan has been lashed by a year's worth of rain in a week, triggering landslides and flooding, while forcing thousands to evacuate and leaving four dead.

Staff Writers

Not Supplied

UPDATEDWarning as major dam nears capacity

Authorities have warned that Australia’s largest dam could spill within hours, as towns across NSW flood and a woman is lost in floodwaters.

Jack Nivison

A volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has erupted for the first time in hundreds of years. (EPA PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumRussian volcano erupts for first time in centuries

Days after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook the region, a volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has erupted for the first time in hundreds of years.

Staff Writers

A Labor MP who took part in a big weekend protest urges Australia to recognise Palestine as a state. (Flavio Brancaleone/AAP PHOTOS)

Natural DisastersPremiumRecognising Palestine 'would bring an end to Hamas'

Australia has been urged to recognise Palestine as a state with one Labor MP arguing it could bring about the end of the militant group that rules over Gaza.

Kat Wong and Samantha Lock

Not Supplied

WEATHERPremiumUrgent search for woman missing in floods

An urgent search is underway for a woman who was swept away by floodwaters, as rain and snow blanket the nation’s east coast.

Brendan Kearns

Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki has erupted, spewing an ash column 10km high into the air. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumIndonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupts

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki's latest eruption has sent a 10km-high column of ash into the air above Indonesia.

Staff Writers

Severe weather warnings are in place for New York and New Jersey, and on the US Eastern Seaboard. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumHeavy rains, flooding disrupt US Eastern Seaboard

The risk of "excessive" showers capable of triggering flash floods is 40 per cent for a swath of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast US, home to 37 million people.

Joseph Ax and Steve Gorman

Tsunami waves partially flooded a port and a fish processing plant in Russia's Sakhalin region. (EPA PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumTsunami risk eases, volcano erupts after Russian quake

A massive earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has triggered a tsunami that primarily affected the Kuril Islands while the Klyuchevskoy volcano erupted.

Staff Writers

A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of southern Asia and Africa in 2004. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumRussian quake among the biggest movers and shakers

An earthquake that hit Russia's far east and sent ripples across the Pacific joins a list of some of the most powerful and devastating tremblors ever recorded.

Staff Writers

Much of the Pacific is under tsunami evacuation orders or warnings after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia.

THE NIGHTLY‘Will actually kill’: Urgent tsunami warning to millions

Authorities have warned of the fatal impacts of tsunami waves expected to hit parts of the United States, Japan, China, the Philippines and Indonesia after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia’s coast.

Max Corstorphan

Tsunami waves up to 5m struck Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril islands following an earthquake. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumMassive Russia quake sends tsunami waves across Pacific

French Polynesia is on tsunami alert hours after a powerful earthquake struck Russia's far east, sparking alerts and evacuations across the Pacific.

Staff Writers

NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders described the cuts as ‘cruel’. NewsWire / Nikki Short

NEWSPremium‘Cruel’: Latest Aussie job cuts revealed

The only department dedicated to one state’s regional communities is the latest to announce job cuts.

Nathan Schmidt

Massive rainfall has caused "heavy casualties and property losses", President Xi Jinping says. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumAt least 30 dead as rain turns Beijing into rain trap

A year's worth of rain falling in only days has caused deadly flooding and landslides around the Chinese capital - and there are more falls to come.

Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee

Deadly flash floods have damaged buildings and forced hundreds of evacuations in eastern Romania. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumThree dead and hundreds evacuated in Romania floods

Flash floods in Romania's northeast have killed at least three people, officials say.

Staff Writers

Not Supplied

Natural DisastersSnow predicted in surprising state

Residents of a state renowned for its beautiful beaches and tropical climate have been warned to prepare for potential snow this weekend.

Robert White, Iwan Jones

Not Supplied

newsPremium200 species dead in ‘unprecedented’ disaster

Scientists have offered a grim outlook for Aussies hoping for an immediate solution to an ‘unprecedented’ disaster leaving the water at Aussie beaches toxic.

Jack Nivison

Heavy rain is continuing around Beijing and across China's north, sparking floods and landslides. (AP PHOTO)

Natural DisastersCommentsPremiumRain in China kills two, forces thousands to relocate

Eleven provinces and regions in China are on flood alert after two people were killed following heavy rain across the nation's north.

Staff Writers

Not Supplied

NEWSPremium‘Big’: Wild weather warning to Aussies

Aussies in several states have been warned to brace for a weekend of wild weather, with the risk of floods and damaging winds.

Jack Nivison

Rescue operations are ongoing following a deadly school building collapse in India's Rajasthan. (EPA PHOTO)

Natural DisastersPremiumFour dead after school roof collapse in India's west

Four children have died and dozens are feared trapped under rubble following a school building collapse in western India.

Saurabh Sharma and Tanvi Mehta