Giant waves, cyclone-strength winds and torrential rain swept three people to their deaths on Australia’s east coast yesterday after the storm forced hundreds to flee their homes.
Waves up to 5m were pounding much of the east coast, including Sydney, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of further danger as the storm moves south.
Two bodies were found in cars washed away in flood waters while a man was swept off the rocks south of Sydney’s surfing beach of Bondi, police said.
Photo: Reuters
The New South Wales State Emergency Service said it had received more than 9,250 calls and had conducted 280 flood rescues.
Insurers received more than 11,150 claims with estimated insured losses of A$38 million, the Insurance Council of Australia said, adding that it expects the number of claims to rise further over the coming days.
Stocks in Australia biggest insurers, including QBE Insurance, Insurance Australia Group and Suncorp, skidded in a stronger wider market.
However, CLSA analyst Jan Van Der Schalk did not see a major earnings impact on insurers who said they were still assessing the impact of the catastrophe.
Australian Web sites including Channel Nine, Foxtel Play and Domino’s Pizza went down on Sunday when Amazon Web Service’s Sydney zone experienced a two-hour power outage, the ITnews Web site said.
An Amazon spokesman declined to comment but Amazon Web Services’ status page yesterday showed several connectivity issues in Sydney had been resolved.
Automated teller machines and point-of-sale banking services were also hit.
However, the storm had a major silver lining for a bunch of big-wave surfers in the south of Sydney yesterday.
Attracted by the promise of waves of up to 4.5m, the daredevil surfers came from around Australia for the Red Bull Cafe Fear challenge in Botany Bay, where Captain Cook landed to claim the country for England in 1770.
They got what they wanted with huge waves crashing into the rocks at the break more correctly called Cape Solander, although ultimately conditions deteriorated to a point where the competition was postponed until today.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft