The sandy beaches of Victoria’s Cape Paterson yesterday turned white after the coastal hamlet was blanketed by a freak hailstorm.
Victorians were bracing for huge rainfall and chilly temperatures as a cold front moves across the Australian state from the southwest throughout the day, with 5cm of rain already soaking some towns west of Melbourne.
However, for the residents of Cape Paterson, in Gippsland and about 150km southeast of Melbourne, the stormy weather came with a surprise.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The seaside village resembled a snowfield, forcing residents to shovel hail from their doorsteps, while videos posted to social media showed hail covering local roads.
“I’ve grown up here and it’s not something I’ve ever seen before,” said Glenn Sullivan, who lives in nearby Wonthaggi. “The whole beach was covered. Everyone was just stunned by it. It was an amazing thing to see.”
Sullivan drove down to Cape Paterson after he spotted “static” storm clouds on the horizon as he was out cycling in the region.
“I drove out there and as I got to the town, and to the beach, there was ice that was touching the bottom of my car. It was about 10cm to 15cm high,” he said.
The hailstorm prompted a warning from the state’s emergency services, which flagged the potential for flash-flooding and other dangerous conditions.
Authorities issued a severe weather warning, saying in the afternoon that between 1cm and 1.5cm had fallen in some suburbs throughout the city.
Strong wind warnings were also in place for Western Port and Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay area, as well as parts of the Gippsland coast.
Yesterday had been tipped to be Melbourne’s wettest day of the year, with at least 1.1cm expected, although forecasters later said that it was unlikely enough rain would fall for that to happen.
The regional centers of Bendigo, Ballarat, Seymour, Wonthaggi and Bacchus Marsh were later yesterday also likely to be drenched.
The heaviest rainfall was expected west of the city, with the beachside town of Aireys Inlet receiving 5.3cm while 4cm was recorded in Ballarat.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was