Floods cover vast areas of northeast Australia

[Barrett808]

Floodwater rose across a vast area in Australia's northeast on Friday, inundating 22 towns, forcing 200,000 residents out of their homes, and closing a major sugar export port.

Flooding has already shut coal mines in Queensland state and its biggest coal export port, forcing miners such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto to slow or halt operations.

The worst flooding in about 50 years has been caused by a "La Nina" weather pattern, which cools waters in the eastern Pacific and has produced torrential rain over the past two weeks across northeast Australia.

In the southern states of Victoria and South Australia, meanwhile, soaring temperatures and tinder dry conditions have sparked bushfires. ...

Floods cover vast areas of northeast Australia

[Gman]

1. Global warming or La Nina?

Likely it's La Nina weather enhanced by global warming.