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Australia news live: Victorian towns told to evacuate or shelter as major flooding hits | Australia news

Victorian towns told to evacuate or shelter as flood waters rise

The rural town of Rochester north of Melbourne has been told to evacuate.

And people in towns in the riverine area from Seymour to Lake Eildon have been urged to move to higher ground.

Victorian emergency authorities say flood waters are rising rapidly in the area and could get as high as levels seen in 1974 as rain continues.

There are dozens of warnings in place and they are changing rapidly so people in flood-affected areas are being urged to keep a close eye on updates.

EMERGENCY WARNING – RIVERINE FLOOD – Move to Higher Ground

This Major Flood Warning is being issued for Goulburn River Lake Eildon to Seymour.
More details at https://t.co/RP7Qsf1njB

IMMINENT MAJOR FLOODING EXPECTED AT SEYMOUR, WITH LEVELS SIMILAR TO MAY 1974 FLOOD. pic.twitter.com/U81P7EH6QC

— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) October 13, 2022

Key events

Filters BETA

Also just another update on the Medibank cyber security incident.

The company says it has taken offline the ahm and international student policy systems and its data and is now in the process of restarting it.

The evidence continues to show that no customer data was accessed in the intrusion, but the company says the investigation is ongoing.

Medibank said:

We have spoken with the Australian Cyber Security Centre, APRA, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, the Department of Health and the Department of Home Affairs over the course of the day to ensure that our regulators and other key stakeholders are informed.

We have begun the process of contacting our customers and our focus remains on ensuring the ongoing security of our customers, employees and stakeholders and the continued delivery of Medibank services. Our highest priority remains resolving this matter transparently and as quickly as possible.

This shows how proactive companies are seeming to be now in the wake of the Optus data breach.

It seems the rain storm has hit Melbourne now. Starting to get pretty heavy.

Victorian towns told to evacuate or shelter as flood waters rise

The rural town of Rochester north of Melbourne has been told to evacuate.

And people in towns in the riverine area from Seymour to Lake Eildon have been urged to move to higher ground.

Victorian emergency authorities say flood waters are rising rapidly in the area and could get as high as levels seen in 1974 as rain continues.

There are dozens of warnings in place and they are changing rapidly so people in flood-affected areas are being urged to keep a close eye on updates.

EMERGENCY WARNING – RIVERINE FLOOD – Move to Higher Ground

This Major Flood Warning is being issued for Goulburn River Lake Eildon to Seymour.
More details at https://t.co/RP7Qsf1njB

IMMINENT MAJOR FLOODING EXPECTED AT SEYMOUR, WITH LEVELS SIMILAR TO MAY 1974 FLOOD. pic.twitter.com/U81P7EH6QC

— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) October 13, 2022

Rainfall and flooding summary for Victoria

Here’s a summary of the rain situation in Victoria from our friends at AAP:

Rainfall recorded:

  • Northeast Victoria: Almost 200mm

  • Metropolitan Melbourne: 22mm with another 10mm to 20mm expected to fall

  • Strathbogie North: 166mm

  • Near Euroa: 145mm

  • Seymour: 124mm

  • Other parts of the state: 50mm to 70mm

  • Another 20mm to 60mm is expected to fall in those same impacted areas across northern and central Victoria

Areas under threat:

  • More than 70 warnings issued across the state

  • 197 properties under threat from flooding and another 279 could become isolated between Seymour and Lake Eildon from Thursday evening

  • Five properties under threat from flooding above the floor and 20 could become isolated on the Seven and Castles creeks near Euroa from Thursday evening into Friday

  • 200 properties under threat from flooding above the floor and up to 700 properties could become isolated near Rochester along the Campaspe River from Friday morning

  • Three houses and a local tavern could be affected by major flooding along the upper reaches of the Maribyrnong River

  • 50 properties under threat from flooding above the floor and up to 600 could be isolated near Shepparton from Saturday afternoon

  • About 12 properties, including a local shopping strip, could be affected by major flooding at Skipton from Saturday

Catchments at or above 100% capacity:

RBA apologises after software update error stops PayID transactions

The Reserve Bank of Australia has now provided a more detailed explanation for the issue that caused PayID transactions to go down for banks across the country for five hours last night.

The RBA says it was an issue with the “Fast Settlement Service” and the “Low Value Clearing and Settlement Services”.

It was an error during a planned change to the software that manages the RBA’s virtual servers, which then disrupted the production servers, which meant that the RBA’s information and transfer system was not able to send or receive the files needed between around 7pm and midnight yesterday.

The services have now been restored and are working at full capacity, and the RBA is working with banks to clear the backlog of payments.

Michele Bullock, the deputy governor of the RBA, said:

We sincerely apologise to industry participants and customers for the inconvenience and disruption caused. It was disappointing that this occurred and we recognise the impact this would have on people relying on the payments system. I want to assure people that the Bank takes the stability of the payments infrastructure very seriously and will double its effort to ensure this does not happen again.

Death reported at WA mine

WorkSafe has reported a death at a mine site in the Pilbara.

Mine safety inspectors are en route to the site to investigate, along with WA Police.

Worksafe said it is the second mining fatality in Western Australia in the past week, with another death reported at Gold Fields’ Hamlet underground mine two days ago.

New Zealand in ‘early conversations’ with Australia on agriculture emissions reduction

New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing about the country’s proposed methane emissions tax that is causing a lot of consternation among conservatives in Australia.

Shaw explains that New Zealand already has an emissions trading scheme that covers every sector of the economy except agriculture, so the government is setting up a separate agriculture emissions pricing scheme.

He says the government’s proposal will have an on-farm calculator to work out the source of emissions on the farm:

Which basically comes down to the methane that is emitted from animals or nitrous oxide and then what are the offsets on that farm, such as trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

That then strips out a net number which shows what the farmer is liable for and it provides an incentive for them to reduce their emissions over time.

He says the proposal has come from the agriculture sector after the NZ government struck a deal with the sector in 2019 to develop a plan. He says there have been some modifications but it is ultimately the sector’s own proposal.

Shaw says he has had “early conversations” with the Australian government around how the two countries might cooperate on agricultural emissions reduction.

It is an important part of the economy and we do need to feed the growing population around the world and to do so with less arable land and a lower emissions profile. [It is] so important for us globally that we crack this particular nut.

New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw at Owhiro Bay beach in Wellington. Photograph: Mark Mitchell/AP

More power outages in western Victoria as severe weather continues

Powercor says there are about 3,480 power outages across western Victoria, with about 2,700 of those located in the Woodend and Gisborne region, with 580 in the Edenhope area.

More power outages are expected this afternoon and this evening as wild weather continues.

The company said crews will respond to faults as quickly as possible, subject to road and ground conditions, and customers are asked to remain patient.

Penny Wong visits Marshall Islands and promises ‘we will work with Pacific nations’

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is visiting the Marshall Islands, which is about halfway between Australia and Hawaii. It is home to around 20,000 people, and Wong said in a press conference she was the first minister to visit since borders were reopened.

She announced an agreement had been reached to share ABC radio content to Marshall Islands, noting that in many cases radio was the main form of media.

Wong was asked about the shift in climate policy under the new government and what it means for Pacific Island nations. She said it was a big shift:

It’s a great thing. It’s an important thing that we have been elected with a very clear mandate for an ambitious climate policy. One that will see renewables in Australia take up in excess of 80% of our energy consumption or our energy production generation this decade. That’s a big shift for a country that, as you know, has been very energy-intensive. So we will work with Pacific island nations because we understand it’s important.

Senator Penny Wong.
Senator Penny Wong. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Government’s response to Optus data breach ‘very tardy’, opposition says

Karen Andrews claims the government was “very tardy” in its response to the Optus data breach, and should have been telling people what they should have been doing right away.

She says the government “haven’t come up with any legislation” to address gaps in cybersecurity legislation, and she points to the government stopping her introducing a bill targeting ransomware (the Optus data breach was not a ransomware attack).

Novak Djokovic ban should not be overturned, Coalition says

The shadow home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, tells ABC’s Afternoon Briefing she is opposed to overturning the ban on tennis champion Novak Djokovic returning to Australia after he had his visa cancelled by the former Morrison government for not being vaccinated.

Djokovic is not able to come to Australia for three years, unless that ban is overturned, and there is speculation it will be overturned to allow him to come back for the Australian Open next year.

Andrews says if his ban is overturned, it would raise questions about bans being overturned for anyone else.

She says one rule should apply to all.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic is banned from entering Australia for three years.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is banned from entering Australia for three years. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Richard Marles is asked about the distressing footage shown at a Bali bombing memorial in Bali on Wednesday night. He says the government is “very disappointed” how it has played out.

Australia aims to strengthen PNG relationship through defence, Richard Marles says

The defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing live from Papua New Guinea.

He says defence is the real strength of the relationship between PNG and Australia, saying there would be very few, if any, officers in PNG who had not received training from Australians. He talks about strengthening the relationship with the country through defence.

He says:

All of this is part of doing the work. Making sure we are present in the Pacific and we are focused on developing the countries of the Pacific and doing all of that and establishing ourselves as the partner of choice for countries in the Pacific, that if we do well, we naturally are.

He says he would not say it is being pushed now as a result of China:

We are obviously in a very challenging and complex strategic world and there is no doubt that China forms part of that landscape but actually this is much more about the relationship between two countries, in the case of Australia and the PNG, who don’t just see each other as friends but we see each other as family. It is much more about building a relationship on our own terms and that is how I would describe Australia’s relationship with the Pacific more generally.

Queensland government to lower level of Wivenhoe Dam due to flood threat

Lisa Cox

Lisa Cox

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced the government will lower the full supply level of Wivenhoe Dam due to the threat of more flooding.

With a third La Niña under way, the premier said the government had decided to lower the dam’s water level temporarily to 80% of its capacity.

Palaszczuk said:

With parts of Queensland already saturated, the threat of floods is here and it is real.

In light of forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology and expert advice, the decision has been made to lower the level of Wivenhoe Dam.

This will increase the temporary flood storage space in Wivenhoe Dam to allow additional flood waters to be stored if required.

The state’s water minister, Glenn Butcher, said the decision was not reached lightly and followed advice from Seqwater, the Department of Environment and Science, and the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water.

Butcher said over the next two weeks Seqwater would drain about 116,000 megalitres of water:

This provides additional flood mitigation benefits provided by the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams system, manages the ongoing safety of both dams, and balances south-east Queensland’s water security.

Defence IT networks attacked or probed for vulnerability ‘every single day’, minister says

The assistant defence minister, Matt Thistlethwaite, has told a cybersecurity conference in Melbourne that defence networks are attacked or probed for vulnerability “every single day, in almost every single way”.

He said:

The digital arms trade is booming and cyberspace is the new battle domain.

As much as every fighter jet, frigate or tank, our communication networks are critical to Australia’s Defence.

What is at stake is Australia’s national security.

Defence’s IT footprint consists of more than 1,000 networks, 10,000 servers, over 100,000 end points, and 30,000 mobile devices, he said.

The network handles more than 16,000 terabytes of data, across ships, submarines, aircraft and army.

He said:

A single vulnerability in a Defence system can put our men and women in uniform at risk, and result in an unacceptable threat to our nation and our national interest.

The government’s 2022 Defence Information and Communications Technology Strategy and the Defence Cyber Security Strategy recognises the importance of cyber security, he said.

Melbourne’s worst rainfall to come between 5pm and 7pm tonight

People crossing a street in the rain in Melbourne
Heavy rainfall across Melbourne this evening could result in flash flooding. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The Bureau of Meterology says the worst rainfall across Melbourne will be between 5pm and 7pm tonight, which could result in flash flooding.

There will be isolated showers across the state tomorrow, with more settled weather towards the start of next week, with the potential for rain mid to late next week.

The State Emergency Service has received more than 1,600 requests for assistance, with 300 of those related to trees down and the rest related to flash flooding and requests for sandbagging.

There have been 23 flood rescues from people attempting to drive through flood water.



https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2022/oct/13/australia-news-live-flood-wild-weather-warnings-bali-bombings-ceremony-politics-vic-qld-nsw Australia news live: Victorian towns told to evacuate or shelter as major flooding hits | Australia news

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