It is safe to visit australia again. Get away from chinese virus.

[syed putra]

Australia fires: Heavy rain extinguishes third of blazes in NSW

• 7 February 2020

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• Australia fires

Media caption'Sydney has had its wettest day in well over a year'
Torrential rain across the east coast of Australia has extinguished a third of the fires in the region - and could put more out, officials say.
A wide band of rain sweeping New South Wales (NSW) has put out 20 of about 60 fires in the state in the past day.
Authorities have welcomed the downpour, but warned of flash flooding in Sydney and other cities along the coast.
Some of the affected areas had received the most rain recorded in over a year, said the Bureau of Meteorology.
Australia's largest city, Sydney, recorded its wettest day in over 15 months on Friday. Many locals cheered on the downpour despite the inconvenience.
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"It was fantastic to wake up to much-needed rain this morning!" tweeted the city's lord mayor Clover Moore.
Much of NSW has been in drought for over three years, and such conditions have fuelled the intensity of the summer's unprecedented fires.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionSydney locals woke up to heavy downpours
Fire officials in NSW said they were "over the moon" to see the state's forecast for a week-long drenching finally eventuate.
"This is that constant, steady, decent rainfall that we've been praying for for so long," said NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS) spokeswoman Angela Burford.
She told the BBC: "This isn't just one of those scattered showers we saw a month ago. This is really helping our firefighters, and in some places, giving them a well-needed rest."
Image Copyright @RFSCommissioner@RFSCOMMISSIONER
Report

However, Ms Burford warned that the largest blazes, in the state's inland south and near the capital city of Canberra, had received limited showers so far and were still of concern.
The weather system hit south-east Queensland on Wednesday before moving south to affect neighbouring NSW.
Authorities have issued a severe wet weather warning for a 1,000km (621 miles) stretch of the state - with damaging winds, heavy rainfall, and "abnormally high" tides forecast.
Over 280mm of rain was recorded at the holiday town of Byron Bay in northern NSW. Locals there described the downburst on Thursday night as heavier than that experienced in a 2017 cyclone.
Rescue services said they had rescued a number of people trapped in cars amid rising water. There have been close to 1,000 calls for help in NSW and Queensland since Wednesday.

Media captionWhy heavy rain doesn't always help drought-affected farmers
The heavy rains are predicted to continue until next week, providing relief to some drought and fire-ravaged zones. Some fires, which were finally contained this week, have been burning for over two months.
"This has been an absolute welcome disruption to the weather pattern and a massive reprieve and relief to so many people," said NSWRFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons on Friday.
He said while hotter and drier conditions would likely return in the coming weeks, this particular period of rain "is breaking the back of this fire season, no doubt".

• Canberra escapes worst as fires rage on
• What's Australia doing to fight the bushfires?
• A visual guide to Australia's bushfire crisis

The state's bushfire season, which began in September, could run until as late as April. Officials have also warned that the peak of fire danger is still to come for the southern states of Victoria and South Australia.
NSW has been the state most devastated in Australia's bushfires crisis this year. The unprecedented scale and intensity of the blazes is a direct effect of climate change, scientists say.
Nationally, blazes have killed at least 33 people and destroyed thousands of homes. More than 11 million hectares of land - an area comparable to the size of England - has been scorched.

Media captionA timelapse of the fires which threatened Canberra last week
Related Topics

 

[Byebye Penis]

In my last melbourne trip, Chinese were all around me and some didn't even speak English.

 

[syed putra]

In my last melbourne trip, Chinese were all around me and some didn't even speak English.

Its a curse we just can't get away from!

 

[glockman]

Its a curse we just can't get away from!

The world has a serious PRC infestation problem.

 

[garlic]

When I was staying in Auckland, when I went into those bubble tea shops, there was no need to utter even a word of English.. just went in and placed order in Chinese...

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Will singkies go to cina restaurants in ozland?

Why you're not likely to catch coronavirus from your favourite dumpling restaurant - Politics
Charlie Men stands outside his restaurant.
PHOTO Charlie Men says fears over coronavirus have severely affected his restaurant business on the Gold Coast. SUPPLIED
At his Chinese restaurant serving hot dumplings and noodle soups in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, Charlie Men is still scratching his head over where his regular customers have gone.

"Normally I have 40 people eating during the peak hours, but yesterday I only had four or five customers," he told the ABC.

Mr Men said he had seen a dramatic drop in the number of customers since the coronavirus outbreak started in China last month and his business was down by 80 per cent.

"My staff called in sick for weeks over concerns [they might catch] coronavirus. I'm devastated," he said.

"Now, I'm all by myself — I'm the owner, manager, cook and waiter."

Inside of an empty Chinese restaurant.
PHOTO Charlie Men's Kitchen on the Gold Coast is unusually quiet over coronavirus fears. SUPPLIED
Mr Men said the Gold Coast Chinese restaurant community had taken a battering with a 50 per cent drop in business on average.

"My business relies on locals. Can you imagine those who are relying on Chinese tourist groups? Even worse," Mr Men said, referring to Australia's recent move to close its borders to Chinese visitors.

"A regular customer told me indirectly he was worried about eating at a Chinese restaurant after having seen people wearing masks in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

"I was waiting to make money this Chinese New Year, now it's all over."

Mr Men's experience is a familiar story across Australia, with the coronavirus fear factor taking its toll on Chinese restaurants in the Sydney suburbs of Eastwood, Chatswood and Burwood as well as Glen Waverley, Doncaster and Box Hill in Melbourne.

Bo Zhang, a Glen Waverley hot pot restaurant owner, was notified by the Victorian Health Department that a man infected with coronavirus visited his restaurant on Australia Day.

Authorities said the man had travelled to Wuhan City in Hubei province and first started showing symptoms more than two days after returning to Australia.

"I was worried about my staff and customers catching the virus, so I shut the restaurant. So far we are all OK," he told the ABC.

"But I have been suffering a lot of financial pressure lately, such as mortgage, rent and wages."

Mr Zhang has been self-isolating at home for nearly two weeks and he hopes to reopen the restaurant once the incubation period is over.

"I have received a lot of support and care from my friends, I really appreciate that," he said.

A sign stuck on the shop says they are closed until 9th Feb.
PHOTO The Glen Waverley hot pot restaurant linked to Victoria's second coronavirus case is closed until February 9. SUPPLIED
Meanwhile, a Box Hill restaurant owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she made a loss of about $4,000 last week after paying rent for her shop, electricity and her employees among other running costs.

"It's been very quiet lately. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, people are scared to eat in a restaurant," she said.

"My business is down by about 40 per cent."

So why is there so much concern over visiting those suburbs? Is it an overreaction, and is it still safe to dine at your favourite Chinese restaurant?

Can you catch the virus from a Chinese restaurant?
A street with many Chinese restaurants.
PHOTO Carrington Road in Box Hill was almost empty at lunchtime on Wednesday. ABC NEWS: SAMUEL YANG
Several restaurants in Box Hill have temporarily closed shop or significantly reduced their opening hours to cut costs due to the significantly reduced patronage.

However, medical experts say catching the virus is highly unlikely because all 14 confirmed cases in Australia are currently in quarantine or have recovered and been released.

Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, said so far every patient who had been diagnosed had recently travelled to Wuhan — the epicentre of the virus — or have been in the Hubei province.

"[China is] at a stage where there is quite a significant amount of human-to-human transmissions, so the number [of cases] in China are far greater than anywhere else in the globe," she told the ABC.

"We've had no human-to-human transmission yet here in Australia, so I would have absolutely no concerns about having a nice Chinese meal in Box Hill."

Dominic Dwyer, a medical virologist at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, also pointed out that people usually sat next to their friends and family at restaurants and the only risk would be if they were sick.

"Generally, we say you've got to be within a metre or two, perhaps a bit more, of people with a disease to catch it," said Dr Dwyer, who is also a professor at Sydney University.

"It doesn't make sense to think that you could get infected in the restaurant when the infection, as far as we're aware, isn't in the community."

A sign inside a restaurant in Box Hill advises people who have recently been to China to self-isolate for 14 days.
PHOTO A sign inside a restaurant in Box Hill advises people who have recently been to China to self-isolate for 14 days. ABC NEWS: SAMUEL YANG
But reports that the virus could spread during the 14-day incubation period — even if the individual wasn't showing symptoms — have heightened anxiety in the Chinese community.

Dr Dwyer said while the incubation period could be up to two weeks, it was in fact usually around five or six days.

"They're incubating the disease … they don't have a cough, they don't have a sneeze, they don't have a runny nose, then they're not transmitting the infection," he said.

"There is some debate that perhaps you can spread the virus before you get symptoms, but there's still some debate about that, that's not what normally happens with most other respiratory infections.

"For the most part … you're generally shedding the virus when you're symptomatic.

"So if people don't have symptoms, and are wandering around the community, the likelihood that they're going to infect anybody else is extremely low, and the likelihood that they're going to sit in a restaurant and be two tables away and infect you is just not going to happen."

How does the virus transmit and how do you prevent it?
Vincent Liu's wife gets a receipt for a customer in her grocery shop.
PHOTO Vincent Liu's wife working at the family's grocery store in Box Hill. ABC NEWS: SAMUEL YANG
Dr Dwyer said coronavirus spreads through "respiratory droplets" produced when people cough or sneeze just like the flu and the common cold.

He said the droplets might travel a metre or more, and people could become infected if they inhaled it or touch a contaminated surface and then touched their mouth.

"There's a lot of debate as to whether there are other methods of transmission, but so far, the evidence is really all about what we call the respiratory route," he said.

Just like limiting the spread of the cold and flu, people are encouraged to sneeze or cough into a tissue or the crook of their arm and wash their hands regularly.

The Government has also asked people who returned from China to self-isolate themselves for 14 days, and to seek medical help — but call ahead — if they feel unwell.

While many people are seen wearing masks on the streets — leading to a mask shortage in some places — experts say it's mostly unwarranted.

"First of all, standard surgical masks actually get wet very quickly just from your breath — breathing quickly in and out — and therefore are not effective," Dr Lewin said.

"They also don't block entry of a virus."

People wear masks in Box Hill.
PHOTO Many people are wearing masks even when they're well. ABC NEWS
Dr Dwyer said it would, however, make sense for people who are sick to wear a mask to reduce the spread of big droplets from spraying if they had a cough.

He said that while P2 or N95 masks were effective and worn by health professionals who were in close contact with patients in hospitals, they had to be fitted properly so that it was airtight.

"The other thing, too, is because they have to be quite tightly fitting to prevent air leakage, they're not terribly comfortable to wear for long periods of time," he said.

"So you couldn't spend your whole day walking around wearing them.

"People do it because they're anxious, but there's no scientific merit in the ordinary person wearing a mask to be on the street."

Are only restaurants impacted?
Vincent Liu stands in between rows of packaged food in his Asian grocery shop.
PHOTO Vincent Liu says his Asian grocery store in Box Hill has also experienced a drop in customers. ABC NEWS: SAMUEL YANG
Despite the high level of precautions taken, including Australia closing its borders to visitors from China and advising Australians against travelling there, the Chinese community remains on high alert — steering clear of suburbs with a large Chinese population.

Local businesses that rely on patronage from Chinese customers like Vincent Liu's Asian grocery store have also taken a hit.

"Rumour has it that someone who's infected has been to some places like Box Hill which impacted on residents here, including shop owners and visitors. It's unfortunate," said Mr Liu, who is also the honorary chairman of the Melbourne Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce.

"Since the start of the Chinese New Year, commercial activities have halved and the situation continues to deteriorate throughout this week.

"Business in the Box Hill Central precinct is down by 70 to 90 per cent across various businesses."

He added it was the first time he had seen this situation this bad in 30 years.

Tina Liu stands on a street in Box Hill.
PHOTO Tina Liu, councillor for Elgar Ward in the City of Whitehorse, says local businesses have been significantly impacted by fears over coronavirus. ABC NEWS: SAMUEL YANG
Mr Liu's daughter, Tina Liu, who is a councillor for the City of Whitehorse's Elgar Ward — which includes Box Hill — said traders and businesses in the area as well as the general community needed support.

"We're also hearing some restaurants for example, they've decided to just close shop rather than operate because they're making losses, so that is of great concern," she said.

"With this particular issue, it's not just a local government issue, obviously it involves the state as well as federal level of government, so I would be very keen to work closely with them in order to address some of these concerns."

 

[mojito]

When I was staying in Auckland, when I went into those bubble tea shops, there was no need to utter even a word of English.. just went in and placed order in Chinese...

Only chinks are obsessed with sugared milk with balls. I certainly do not see many ang mohs choosing it over a latte or a frap.

 

[garlic]

Only chinks are obsessed with sugared milk with balls. I certainly do not see many ang mohs choosing it over a latte or a frap.

Well, I usually take mine as Iced black tea, no sugar and certainly no pearls, think females are the ones who like to eat all those pearls. I also drink espresso daily, sometimes multiple times, I simply do not restrict or follow any particular race's preference for anything.

 

[syed putra]

When I was staying in Auckland, when I went into those bubble tea shops, there was no need to utter even a word of English.. just went in and placed order in Chinese...

You should have ordered in maori
ka taea e au te tiuiti koa

 

[Gallego99]

The coronavirus hit to Australian universities

The coronavirus outbreak may be the biggest disruption to international student flows in history.
There are more than 100,000 students stuck in China who had intended to study in Australia this year. As each day passes, it becomes more unlikely they will arrive in time for the start of the academic year......

https://indaily.com.au/opinion/2020/02/07/the-coronavirus-hit-to-australian-universities/

According to Goldman Sachs the Chinese account for 60% of the student population in top Universities in Australia.(CNBC report) you have to search for the link.

The perfect storm-bushfires, flood and corona infection-all at the same time. Yup, it sounds just about right to move to Oz.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

 

[laksaboy]

If you want fire and smoke, go to Wuhan now. The crematoriums are burning day and night.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Flooding, road closures and evacuations amid heavy rain in Queensland's South East and Darling Downs
Updated about 4 hours ago

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VIDEO: Cars caught in flooding on Didswith Street, East Brisbane. (ABC News)
RELATED STORY: Storms and flood warnings for parts of Queensland in another wet weekend
RELATED STORY: Heavy rain sparks flash flooding, traps drivers as deluge continues across South East Queensland
Cars were underwater and roads and train lines were cut after heavy rain and severe storms caused flooding in parts of South East Queensland and the Darling Downs.

Key points:

• A severe storm warning was issued for parts of South East Queensland on Sunday afternoon
• Heavy rain hit parts of Brisbane, with cars going underwater and roads and train lines cut by flooding
• In the Darling Downs, Myall Creek at Dalby peaked at 3.2m Sunday morning and caused widespread flooding in the town

Trains on the Ipswich/Rosewood line were suspended between Wacol and Gailes stations in both directions due to flooding, with customers warned to expect delays.

Brisbane suburbs including Pullenvale, Kenmore, Woolloongabba, Moorooka, Holland Park, Tarragindi and Durack experienced flash flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology said while severe thunderstorms in the warning area had temporarily eased, it was likely they would redevelop, and the bureau would monitor the situation closely.

PHOTO: Authorities had to come to a rescue of a driver whose car was stuck at Moorooka. (Supplied: Claire Garton)


East Brisbane resident Deslea Sneddon was one of several locals who took advantage of the brief reprieve to take a look at flooding at Hanlon Park.

"It's pretty exciting to see it so full of water and flowing so fast, we haven't seen it like this for some time," she said.

PHOTO: Locals visited Hanlon Park in East Brisbane to see the flooding. (ABC News: Anna Hartley)


"I've never seen it before when it's flooded like this. It's quite extreme.

"It's great to see the rain, I love it. There does seem to be more on the way so we'll just have to keep the washing under the house."

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VIDEO: Flash flooding has hit parts of Brisbane with creeks overflowing in Pullenvale, Tarragindi and Kenmore (ABC News)


Redlands Mayor Karen Williams said the council had opened sandbagging stations at Cleveland and Russell Island after calls from concerned residents.

"Everyone is welcoming the rain because it's been so dry, but we've had such heavy rain in short periods and, after a week of on-and-off rain, the ground is saturated," she said.

"Our residents know the drill. We still have a week of rain coming so being prepared could help avoid damage to homes."

PHOTO: Grandview Road at Pullenvale was cut off by floodwater. (Supplied: Laura Greive)


The storms followed heavy rain overnight in eastern parts of the Darling Downs and Granite Belt, as well as on the Gold Coast, which recorded the highest rainfall total of 201mm up to 9am.

Flood warning issued for Dalby
The bureau has warned towns downstream of the Condamine River of flooding at river crossings following the flash-flooding at Dalby on Sunday.

Dalby flood levels reached just below peak on Sunday morning before temporarily falling.

PHOTO: The Condamine River rises over Park Road Pedestrian Bridge in Warwick. (Supplied: Southern Downs Council CEO David Keenan)


Water arriving from upstream caused levels to rise again Sunday afternoon, approaching the moderate flood warning level.

Senior hydrologist Paul Birch said towns downstream will be impacted in the coming days.

"For townships downstream of Dalby like Condamine and Chinchilla where those sorts of areas are crossing its more about the big flow that's happening in the Condamine River rather than the small flow that's coming out of Myall Creek," Mr Birch said.

"There will be a number of crossings that will be affected by the floods when they come through this week.

"It's still coming out of the middle reaches of the Condamine River above where Dalby connects in so over the next several days that water will start moving downstream into those areas."

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VIDEO: Heavy rain has caused flash flooding on South and McDougall Street in Toowoomba (ABC News)


On Sunday, two people had to be rescued from a car in floodwaters at Greenmount, south of Toowoomba, and about 10 homes were evacuated in Jondaryan.

The Bureau of Meteorology said severe thunderstorms also created intense downpours around Warwick, with more than 80 millimetres falling in an hour.

Forecaster Peter Markworth said while some areas received more than 200mm of rain in 24 hours, no records were broken.

PHOTO: Residents are being urged not to drive through floodwaters. (Supplied: Sowerbys Towing)


"We've had some decent falls across the south-east," he said.

"The Gold Coast and Stradbroke Island were the most affected and the Darling Downs saw large totals getting up to over 100mm, with Coolangatta getting up to 201mm."

PHOTO: Parts of Dalby are already under water after heavy rain overnight Saturday. (Supplied: Hamish Felton-Taylor)


Rain provides drought relief for Southern Downs
Residents of Warwick have received some minor relief from drought conditions following significant rainfall overnight Saturday.

The town has received over two years of water supply following the rain, with water still flowing into the Leslie Dam which supplies water to the area.

PHOTO: Condamine River flooding at Churchill Drive in Warwick. (Supplied: Southern Downs Council CEO David Keenan)


Southern Downs Regional Mayor Tracy Dobie said while residents are pleased with the rainfall, she hopes the town remains drought-declared.

"We haven't seen rain like this since ex-tropical cyclone Debbie in March 2017 and following that big downpour, our drought declaration was lifted," Ms Dobie said.

"We have been drought-declared since 2018 and our assessment for drought declaration comes up at the end of March and it's really important that our declaration remains in place.

"Even though we've had this rain and the tanks have been filled, the land is dried from three years of no rain.

"It's going take a year of average rain before our land becomes moist again."

Heavy falls hit Gold Coast
Doug Lance, who lives at Ingenia Holiday Park in Chinderah, south of the Gold Coast, said he and another 20 residents did not get much sleep as floodwaters rose at the caravan park overnight Saturday.

PHOTO: Water reached the doorsteps of some caravans at Chinderah, south of the Gold Coast. (ABC News: Cathy Border)


He said it was lucky no homes were flooded and water only reached doorsteps.

"The rain just didn't stop. It just kept coming non-stop all night. It never let up," he said.

"It was restless all right, I didn't go to bed.

"I was up every half hour checking the water level.

"We could get another 100mm yet."

PHOTO: Despite the heavy falls, the Bureau of Meteorology said no records had been broken. (Supplied: Hamish Felton-Taylor)


More rain, then a heatwave for Cairns
Mr Markworth said South East Queensland could expect to hear more rain on the roof on Sunday night, with the highest totals expected on the Gold Coast.

"We are expecting those isolated showers and storms to continue today and tomorrow," he said.

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VIDEO: Flash flooding forced the closure of Mihi Tavern in Ipswich. (ABC News)


"Most of the rainfall today has already happened.

"Most of the rainfall is expected to fall this evening, similar to last night, into tomorrow.

"There's still the ingredients — there is still the potential for heavy falls there.

"It won't be as broad as what we saw last night, we're generally expecting totals 20-60mm and of course potentially a bit higher if you end up under a thunderstorm they could be up to 100mm again."

PHOTO: Parts of Woolloongabba also went underwater. (ABC News: Craig Andrews)


The rain comes as Far North Queensland prepares to face heatwave conditions, with temperatures expected to reach up to 7 degrees Celsius above average in the Cairns region next week.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Heavy rain douses Australia's east coast bushfires
Pedestrians brave strong wind and rain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. (REUTERS/Loren Elliott)
10 Feb 2020 07:14AM
Bookmark
MELBOURNE: Australian authorities issued evacuation orders as heavy rain lashed Sydney and the east coast of the state of New South Wales (NSW) on Monday (Feb 10), bringing chaos to the country's largest city while dousing bushfires that have raged since November.
Between 200 and 400 millimetres of rain drenched the Sydney area out to the Blue Mountains and farther south over the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology said, which led to rivers flooding and forced more than 60 schools to shut on Monday.

The NSW State Emergency Service received over 2,700 calls for help overnight, with the number of calls since last Wednesday topping 10,000, SES spokesman Andrew Richards said.
"It's certainly quite a significant event. It's led to a record number of calls to our call centre. It's quite widespread," NSW State Emergency Service (SES) spokesman Andrew Richards said.
"Couple that with gale-force winds off the coast, large six-metre waves, the coastline's getting pretty hammered as well with the high tides and king tides."
The Bureau of Meteorology warned that heavy rain could lead to life-threatening flash flooding for the south coast of New South Wales and also said there could be wind gusts of more than 90 kilometres per hour.

Thanks to the rain, the NSW Rural Fire Service on Sunday night declared that one of the state's worst bushfires, Currawon on the south coast, was finally out. The fire had burned for 74 days, destroying 312 homes and razing nearly 500,000 hectares of land.
There were still 33 fires burning as of Monday morning in the state, but they were all at the lowest warning level of "advice" and mostly in southeastern areas where the rains were headed.
Farmers welcomed the rain but said the water was not going deep enough into the ground to end three years of drought.
"It's a really good start to the year. Unfortunately, it's not drought-breaking," Nigel Cornish, a Queensland farmer who is a director of industry group Grain Growers, told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
The drought has contributed to a horrific fire season that has killed 33 people and an estimated one billion native animals, destroyed more than 2,500 homes and burned more than 11.7 million hectares of land since September.
Source: Reuters/de

 

[nightsafari]

Its a curse we just can't get away from!

The world has a serious PRC infestation problem.

harlow you 2. The world's two most populous countries infesting the rest of the world. Some more Indians always lusting after Chinese girls some more. Die lah liddat.