Australia: Storms leave 1 dead, thousands without power

Storms hit southern Australia with high winds and heavy rain leaving one person dead and over 120,000 people without power, authorities said on Monday.

According to the emergency services, a 63-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on a cabin at a holiday park on the Victoria-New South Wales border.

"It's a sad and tragic set of circumstances for the woman's family and my thoughts and sympathy go out to her and the emergency services who responded to that incident," Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told a news conference.

Allan warned of "damaging, destructive winds" and " abnormally high tides and destructive surf along coastal areas" in a post on X. She urged people to prepare to take shelter indoors.

Emergency services working to restore power

Victoria's State Emergency Services reported receiving over 2,800 calls — mainly for fallen trees and building damage. At least 121,000 were still without power on Monday, after power was restored to about 60,000 households.

Allan warned that power outages could take up to three days to fix.

"There are some areas where the conditions remain too dangerous to make repairs," she said.

Climate change influencing extreme weather

Weather warnings remain for much of Victoria's southeast coast, with winds reaching nearly 150 km/h (93 mph).

Most coastal areas saw high tides, even as residents were advised to avoid these areas due to dangerous waves and flooding.

The island of Tasmania, to the south of mainland Australia, also experienced severe weather, leaving thousands without power.

Official data shows average temperatures for Australia steadily rising.

The latest storms follow unseasonably warm winter temperatures in Sydney. Australia's frequent extreme weather is exacerbated by climate change, with rising temperatures contributing to more intense storms, wildfires, and floods.

ss/lo (AFP, Reuters)