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Australia' mops up after savage storms batter nation

Xinhua, February 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australia's cleaning up on Monday after a unique set of weather patterns created a wild weekend of storms that battered the nation, while some regions are being braced for more.

Ex-tropical cyclone Stan - originally category 2 - made landfall approximately 120 kilometres north of Port Headland - the world's largest bulk export port - in the early hours of Sunday morning but fizzled out throughout the day.

Regional communities however are still bracing for strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous storm times in the aftermath of the downgraded cyclone, the first of the season which runs until mid year.

One man was killed after being swept away in his car by floodwaters in southern Queensland late on Saturday, just moments after he let his brother out to check on water levels, local authorities said.

In New South Wales state, a mini-tornado destroyed several homes in a small rural town while power was cut and roads flooded from severe storms in several parts of the state, including Sydney.

"It's quite unusual to see this sort of pattern develop right across that broad section of states," Australia's Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Craig Burke said.

"It is unlikely we would see the same extent again like what we have seen in the past few days.

"This was a unique weather set up," he told the national broadcaster.

Queensland state is bracing for more wild weather in the upcoming week as temperatures soar - up to nine degrees Celsius above average in some areas - while the slow movement of airborne moisture will potentially drop 100 mm-plus of rain.

"That may cause flash flooding ... there could also be strong winds but our main concern is the rainfall," the weather bureau said.

Meanwhile fire crews in Tasmania state are still battling up to 80 wild fires - commonly known as bushfires - that have been burning in the west of the island since Jan. 13. More than 72,000 hectares of land has been razed, including World Heritage listed forests where 1,000-year-old trees grew.

The Pilbara Port Authority in Western Australia said that ports in Dampier and Port Headland are in the process of being re-opened for shipborne trade following their closures on Friday in preparation for ex-tropical cyclone Stan. Enditem