Over the past two years, the people of Australia’s New South Wales have faced a long drought, a horror summer of bushfires and Covid-19.
Now they face the heaviest flooding in 60 years that has not only displaced thousands and swept away homes but sent droves of insects and animals running for higher ground in bizarre scenes.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, “three to four months’ worth of rain” fell in just three to four days between Thursday and Monday.
In Comboyn, just to the south of Port Macquarie, 889mm fell from 9am Thursday to 9am Monday.
More than 20,000 people have been evacuated in Sydney and the Mid-North Coast as the worst flooding in the region in 60 years has destroyed homes and covered much of the state with water.
Professor Thomas Wernberg of the University of Western Australia told The National that there is "increasing evidence that climate change is having an impact," on weather cycles.
“All projections show these events are increasing in intensity and frequency, and so are associated extreme events such as marine heatwaves, storms and floods,” he said.
On what would have been their wedding day, Sarah Soars and Joshua Edge, from Taree, New South Wales watched in disbelief as the three-bedroom home they rent, their belongings and their pets were taken by raging floodwaters on Saturday.
The community has since rallied around the pair and found them a new place to live and raised $56,000 in 24 hours to replace lost belongings.
The floods have also led to strange scenes as animals and insects of all variety tried to escape the rising floodwaters.
Residents described a “blanket” of spiders covering walls and fences and locals reported seeing snakes climbing trees.
Shenae Varley told Guardian Australia that she saw " … skinks [lizards ranging from 35-50 cm], ants, basically every insect, crickets – all just trying to get away from the floodwaters" at the Penrith weir in western Sydney.
“My husband videoed it, because I was not going close to it. When he was standing still he had spiders climbing up his legs. A skink used him as a pole to get away from the water.
“I occasionally see spiders around the place but never anything like that, it was just insane,” she said.
Professor Dieter Hochuli, the head of Sydney University's integrative ecology group, told the ABC that there is a “vibrant ecosystem happening all the time … under our noses”.
"What happens with the floods is all these animals that spend their lives cryptically on the ground can't live there any more … Just like people, they're trying to get to higher ground during a flood.”
People worked quickly to help friends and neighbours escape rising water.
In one small New South Wales town, a group of residents carried every instrument out of a music store – including drum kits and electric pianos – to get them to safety as floodwaters began to quickly swamp the building.
On Tuesday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology predicted weather over Sydney would calm in the afternoon, but senior meteorologist Agata Imielska warned that “even though we will have that blue sky and sunshine returning, flooding will continue and the flood risk will continue. We also have warnings for damaging winds”.
Ms Imielska said “dangerous conditions” continue and the Mid North Coast is still being pummelled by heavy rainfall.
The area has already received over a metre of rainfall since Thursday, which Ms Imielska said: “is two-thirds of annual rainfall [for that region] falling in the space of just one week”.
The north-west slopes – including Tamworth, Gunnedah and Moree – received four months of rain in just 24 hours, the body said on Tuesday.
On top of the flooding and the escaping insects, parts of New South Wales and southern Queensland have been dealing with swarms of mice that has cost local businesses tens of thousands of dollars.
The recent wet season brought a bumper crop harvest leading to an explosion in the local mice population.
Naav Singh, who runs a family-owned supermarket in Gulargambone, New South Wales, told Guardian Australia the mice plague has cost the business $23,230 so far.
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
·
Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
·
What is a portfolio stress test?
·
What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
·
How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
·
Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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