Sturm Alfred: Australia fights against devastating floods!

Sturm Alfred: Australia fights against devastating floods!

The tropical storm “Alfred” has left devastating effects in front of Australia's east coast. On Friday, a man drowned in the flood near Dorrigo, New South Wales, which led the storm to the first death. According to information from Radio Euskirchen , the man's vehicle fell about 25 kilometers from the foundation to a river. It remains to be seen how old the man was; A possible age range of 61 years is currently being assumed.

The accident was accompanied by several other incidents. In the south -facing Lismore there was an accident with two military vehicles, in which 36 members of the armed forces were injured, of which eight serious injuries suffered. These military members were on duty to help with the floods. "Alfred" was downgraded from a cyclone to a tropical gravure area on Saturday, but was still in the northeastern Queensland on Saturday afternoon (local time), according to the reporting of News. .

rescue measures and evacuations

The severe floods in New South Wales caused by the storm force tens of thousands of people to leave their houses. Due to the extreme weather conditions, the rescue workers are in use around the clock. The fire brigade saves people with helicopters and boats from the roofs of their houses. In Sydney, even about 200,000 people had to be evacuated from their apartments, which reinforced the crisis.

The dreaded rains also affected the neighboring town of Brisbane. As News about , the floods in Queensland have already caused the first damage and ensure alarm mood among the population.

weather extreme and climate change

The current events in Australia are in the context of an increasing weather extreme, which are reinforced by climate change. According to meteorologists, the weather conditions in Australia will become more extreme in the future. While the south of the country suffers from extreme heat, the northeastern areas suffer significant precipitation. Historical weather data show that temperatures in Australia were warmer with average values ​​over 30 degrees in January 2019 than before. And there are still devastating natural disasters.

When looking into the future, climate researchers warn that large parts of Australia could possibly become uninhabitable when climate change progresses. This could not only cause ecological but also economic damage. The construction industry and especially the residents near the coast are particularly affected. The conservative government of Australia has repeatedly had to face critical voices regarding an inadequate climate policy in the past.

The effects of climate change are already clearly shown in the patterns of extreme weather, which is reflected in heat waves, floods and other natural disasters. By the end of the century, international climate experts forecast an increase in sea level by at least 80 centimeters, which could result in additional evacuations and problems. Deutschlandfunk has therefore not lost sight of worrying developments and reports comprehensively on these topics.