Disaster and Emergency Response

A unique stash of historic photos that floated 60 kilometres on floodwaters from a far north Queensland town down the rugged Barron River to the coast is reunited with its owner.

Look back on the month that was in this series of fascinating photos from ABC journalists and contributors across Western Australia. 

Each year, a team of scientists flies directly into the eyes of some of the world’s biggest storms as they try to solve one of meteorology's greatest forecasting fears — the rapid intensification of life-threatening hurricanes and cyclones.

After two years of floods inundating the east coast of Australia, thousands of customers are still waiting for their claims to be finalised.

The slow-moving system is still gathering moisture over the Coral Sea, meaning it will bring rain to a broad area once it crosses over land. 

The rescue of a man and his dog from floodwaters in Victoria has highlighted a shortage of State Emergency Service volunteers in regional and rural areas, with it taking an hour for a non-local unit to get to the scene.

For Paul Grose, damage to his home during flooding in late 2022 was "devastating". He hopes a recent review into the event will help authorities prevent others from experiencing the same fate.

Family, friends and local residents have paid tribute to the victims and first responders to a five-vehicle crash in the New South Wales Central Tablelands during December.

A bushfire north of Perth has torn through a property that was earmarked for a luxury $100 million country club marketed towards high-rolling international tourists.

Auslan interpreters were missing when it was declared ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper had strengthened to a category four system, and when Gold Coast residents were urged to stay home during severe storms.

During a deadly bushfire crisis last year, the Glengarry Hilton at Grawin Opal Fields threw its doors open to everyone who needed shelter, including the men and women battling the blaze.

A self-confessed "rag tag" bunch of volunteers have formed a group known locally as the Chainsaw Champions to cut through the aftermath of the tornado that tore through parts of south-east Queensland.

Central Queensland's Deborah McGee and other residents in the region went without a Telstra mobile service for weeks following storms in December, a situation a telecommunications academic says can be helped with domestic roaming.

Victoria has recorded its wettest first nine days of January since records began, with more rain on the way.

Cyclone Jasper dumped torrential rain across far north Queensland and then over Christmas the state's south-east was hit with wild storms, so what's being done?

A large rain band is leading to rainfall across much of Victoria, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning there is more to come overnight into Monday.

It is expected to cost more than $2 billion to recover from back-to-back natural disasters that hit Queensland in recent weeks, with the south-east accounting for three quarters of the total damage bill.

Flooding is becoming an all-too-familiar sight in Kerang, and climate reports are forecasting an extreme risk to the northern Victorian town by 2050.

Through bitter cold and heavy rain, rescuers continue to search the rubble of collapsed homes in western Japan in the hopes of finding survivors of this week’s earthquake.

A transcript of communication between air traffic control and two aircraft that collided and burst into flames at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport sheds some light on how the incident unfolded. Here's what it says.

Nearly three weeks after ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper crossed the coast, one community is still without basic amenities and another is completely cut off by road, prompting calls for help from the Australian Defence Force.

This is what we know about what led to the crash and how all 379 people on the commercial aircraft survived.

Authorities have confirmed 64 deaths, with thousands of buildings, vehicles and boats damaged. It's possible that more strong shocks could hit in coming days, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned. 

East Gippsland communities hit by the Black Summer bushfires are planting trees with low flammability to reduce the risk of radiant heat and embers destroying homes and other assets.

A series of powerful earthquakes struck central Japan on Monday, killing at least 55 people, officials say, and destroying buildings, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes, and prompting residents in some areas to flee.