Top Trends Blogs
One person was dead and hundreds of thousands of customers were without power in eastern Australia as the weakened storm formerly known as Tropical Cyclone Alfred made landfall north of Brisbane late Saturday. Communities were at risk of major flooding, and officials warned that the storm could bring heavy rains and dangerous winds.
Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city, which had been in the cyclone’s path, appeared to have mostly escaped the storm’s impact. But the slow-churning system, combined with high tides, was causing widespread flooding down the coast in the nearby state of New South Wales.One man died near the small town of Dorrigo, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Saturday.
The police said that a body found on Saturday was believed to be the remains of a man who had been reported missing in flooding in the town, which was pummeled with more than 10 inches of rain overnight after days of heavy downpour.The man had been driving a car that was swept away, according to the police. He managed to get out of the car and onto a tree but was again overtaken by floodwaters before emergency workers were able to get to him.
More than 333,000 customers in areas affected by the storm were without power Saturday, according to the electricity company Energex. Emergency responders in New South Wales said they had carried out 30 flood rescues in the previous 24 hours, mostly of people in cars who had tried to drive through inundated streets.
Thirteen army personnel were injured when two military vehicles crashed on Saturday near Lismore, a small city about eight hours north of Sydney, according to the Australian Defense Force. Emergency responders said earlier that 36 had been injured in the crash.
