Floods
Analysis
Climate policy
How surging insurance bills could help us deal with climate change
Insurance increases – and some areas being declared uninsurable – are a price signal from a hotter, riskier planet. Will they end up driving our adaptation to the climate crisis?
- by Liam Mannix
Latest
Steam train and live music set to deliver ‘one of a kind’ experience
A fully restored steam train, live music and a big dose of community spirit are coming together to boost tourism in regional Victoria.
- by Martin Boulton
‘They tried to protect Beijing, so they sacrificed Zhuozhou’
To avoid flooding China’s prized technology firms, the government chose to devastate communities elsewhere. Residents can barely contain their frustration.
- by Eryk Bagshaw and Daniel Ceng
Exclusive
Melbourne
Flooded retirement home built a metre too low after Melbourne Water rule change
The removal of flood rules around a section of the Maribyrnong River that discouraged building on the land allowed waters to hit the Avondale Heights retirement village.
- by Clay Lucas
Exclusive
General insurance
‘Perfect storm’: Soaring insurance premiums, claim delays under microscope
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones is worried the increase in premiums, combined with a rise in complaints, will result in people opting out of insurance.
- by Rachel Clun
Unexpected rains around Chinese capital leave dozens dead, missing
The severity of the flooding took the capital by surprise. Beijing usually has dry summers and had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year.
Record July heat prompts dire warning: Act now ‘or we all scorch and fry’
The warmest temperatures for tens of thousands of years are prompting yet more calls from experts for urgent action on climate.
- by Nick O'Malley
Exclusive
Victoria
‘Have I not been through enough?’ Mum reeling from Maribyrnong flood denied support
A mother who tried to access the Victorian government’s support payments for students and their families affected by last year’s floods says she was knocked back.
- by Broede Carmody
The hottest July in 120,000 years. What’s in store for Australia this summer?
The scorching heatwaves in Europe, Asia and America provide a glimpse into Australia’s near future and suggest the impacts of global warming might have been underestimated.
- by Nick O'Malley and Angus Dalton
‘We’ve got a house we can’t live in’: Flood insurance fallout under review
The federal government is launching an inquiry into how insurers handled the 2022 floods, as families battle insurers months on from the disaster.
- by Rachel Clun
Weather extremes are thrashing the world, and it’s just a taste of what’s to come
Signs of catastrophic weather events have been brewing in oceans around the globe for months.
- by Laura Chung and Angus Dalton