February
Victorians stay to protect homes ahead of catastrophic fire warning
Victorians under threat from bushfires have largely fled before catastrophic conditions descend, but others are staying to protect their homes.
- Callum Godde
Firefighters battle ‘potentially catastrophic’ breakdowns in Vic blaze
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thanked Victorian firefighters as another blaze ripped through the state’s west, forcing thousands to evacuate.
- Gus McCubbing
December 2023
- Exclusive
- NSW Rural Fire Service
‘Very, very anxious’: Bushfire app stops working for the blind
Donna Purcell relied heavily on the Hazards Near Me app to provide early bushfire warnings. It abruptly stopped working.
- Tess Bennett
Cracks ground RAAF planes as bushfire season looms
Fissures have been found where the tail fins join fuselages on some C-27J Spartan aircraft operated around the world.
- Andrew Tillett
November 2023
- Opinion
- The AFR View
NSW gets it right on emergency services levy
Levying insurance premiums to pay for emergency services was a bad idea. But what about the rest of our ad hoc tax system?
- The AFR View
September 2023
Using AI to help save wildlife after bushfires
Ecologists know that far more data is needed to help species to survive catastrophic bushfires. That is where AI comes in.
- Sian Powell
- Opinion
- Extreme weather
El Niño’s extreme weather turns up heat on business
Industries that are more susceptible to the physical risks will receive greater scrutiny and need to demonstrate a proactive approach.
- Emma Herd
Satellites that can see through smoke to fight fires this summer
Using Australian locational and building data from Geoscape Finnish satellites will give emergency responders near real-time intelligence on damage and fire path warnings across the country.
- Tom Burton
More than 7m homes at risk of flooding: KPMG
A record 7.2 million households live in local government areas hit by floods last year, more than double the average in the past decade.
- Nila Sweeney
- Analysis
- Analysis
Australia is less humid, which is why bushfires are worse
Sharp changes in air humidity missed by climate-change models are responsible for the jump in the frequency of devastating fires.
- Roger Jones
August 2023
Why didn’t sirens warn Maui death was coming?
State-of-the-art emergency sirens were not used to alert residents on the Hawaiian island that a deadly fire was out of control.
- Caroline Mimbs Nyce
Canadian bushfires threaten two cities: Kelowna, Yellowknife
A state of emergency was declared in Kelowna, a city east of Vancouver and home to about 150,000. Yellowknife’s 20,000 residents were told to flee.
- Jennifer Gauthier and Timon Johnson
How invasive plants caused the Maui fires to rage
Fast-growing when it rains and drought resistant when lands are parched, grasses are fuelling wildfires across Hawaii.
- Simon Romero and Serge F. Kovaleski
Maui wildfires deadliest in a century after toll hits 89
Governor Josh Green warned at a news conference that the death toll would continue to rise as more bodies were discovered.
- Updated
- Mike Blake and Marco Garcia
Maui wildfire death toll hits 80 as questions raised over warnings
The death toll from the fires has risen to 80 as officials try to determine how the inferno spread so rapidly through the historic resort town with little warning.
- Marco Garcia and Mike Blake
Grim search continues on Maui as death toll rises
The official death toll from the fires has reached 80 but rescuers had yet to move inside buildings in their search for other victims.
- Mike Baker, Jenny Gross and Mike Ives
‘Nothing but ash’: Fires raze tropical paradise, killing 53
Hawaii governor Josh Green said 53 people were killed in the devastating wildfires that swept through Maui, and the death toll will likely continue to rise.
- Updated
- Ty O’Neil, Audrey Mcavoy and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
Maui wildfires kill 36, devastate island as thousands flee
The death toll jumped as fast-moving flames swept the island, destroying buildings and sending people fleeing into the ocean to be rescued.
- David R. Baker and Guillermo Molero
Fires raze Hawaii, force residents to flee into ocean
Six people have been killed in a wildfire that tore through the island of Maui and a historic town has largely been reduced to ash.
- Updated
- Audrey McAvoy and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
July 2023
In five to 10 years, forget southern Europe in summer, says expert
As heatwaves continue to devastate the Mediterranean, the tourism industry is facing significant changes in consumer behaviour.
- Fiona Carruthers
