As extreme weather events occur across the country, the federal minister for emergency management says Australians need to prepare for the “reality” of the “perils” summer could bring.
Speaking to ABC Radio National on Tuesday morning, Jenny McAllister called summer a “high-risk weather season” and said governments and Australians need to “think about a range of perils” including fires, storms violent, rain and floods.
“All the information we have tells us that we can expect severe weather events to become more frequent and more intense in the coming years due to climate change,” she said.
Thousands of Tasmanians lost power over the weekend and many prepared to evacuate their properties. .
Weather warnings were issued for most of Tasmania on Sunday. Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Tuesday the state would seek disaster assistance from the federal government “if that threshold is reached.”
Severe weather warnings were also issued in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia late last week, with heavy rain, hail and damaging winds hitting the southeast of the country .
In Victoria, more than 120,000 homes were left without power due to strong winds, and more than 660 homes were damaged on Monday.
In New South Wales, a 63-year-old woman died during storms on Monday when a tree crashed into the cabin she was holidaying in at a holiday park in Moama, on the NSW border. South and Victoria.
Bushfires also occurred this week in Queensland and New South Wales.
The NSW Rural Fire Service was battling to contain a blaze in the Hunter Valley on Monday and the Queensland Fire Service issued a ‘prepare to leave’ warning on Tuesday due to a fast-moving bushfire in Kerry , in the Scenic Rim region, approximately 90 km to the south. from Brisbane.
McAllister said that in the coming months, staff at the federal crisis management information and coordination center, the National Situation Room, could hold briefings with states so that “everyone is on the same wavelength regarding expectations and capabilities.
Australia’s second National Disaster Preparedness Summit will be held later this month and will bring together government, industry and non-governmental organizations to prepare for natural disasters and extreme weather.
The summit will focus on “worst-case scenarios” and the Bureau of Meteorology will inform participants of the weather conditions that can be expected in the coming months.
With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press
