Wild Weather: 05/02/2013, Behind the News. Massive floods have devastated large parts of Queensland and New South Wales.
Some people died and many lost their homes. The clean-up's expected to take a long time. Sarah takes us through what's been happening and why. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: On the day that school was supposed to start again, some kids had their minds on other things. In parts of Queensland and New South Wales school was cancelled last week as people fought to save their property. It started when ex-tropical cyclone Oswald hit the coast of Queensland.
But while people were mopping up in the country's east, down south they were battling flames. It might seem hard to believe that such different weather could cause so many problems all in the same month except if you look back at the past few years you'll see a pattern NATHAN (BtN 2012): Parts of Queensland and New South Wales have been hit by massive floods NATHAN (BtN 2010): Queensland has been hit by yet another natural disaster. Behind the News - 17/02/2009: Queensland Floods. While Victorians try to rebuild their lives after the fires, Queenslanders are cleaning up after a natural disaster left parts of their state underwater.
It's the wet season in the north of Australia so cyclones and monsoonal rain are expected, but not this bad. It's the worst floods in the region's history. Catherine finds out more and takes a look at how floods happen. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTING: The rain started falling on the first of January and just kept coming. Eventually more than half the state was affected by floods- an area the size of South Australia! Whole towns were swamped, major roads blocked, homes, businesses and farms destroyed and animals killed. Drought Help: 04/03/2014, Behind the News. One of the big announcements this week was help for farmers struggling through their second year of drought.
Tash found out what aid is on the way and why droughts are usually the last natural disaster to receive it. NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Tsunamis, cyclones, bushfires, floods and earthquakes. They all have two things in common. They can create incredible destruction and they can happen extremely quickly. But there's one natural disaster that's a little different and that's drought.
Rather than hitting quickly with a huge amount of force, droughts come on slowly and they can take years to have a big impact on people which means even though they can be devastating, droughts don't get the same attention other natural disasters do. Three-quarters of Queensland is currently in drought and New South Wales isn't much better with 60 percent going without rain for the past two years.
Don't Panic: 26/11/2013, Behind the News. We've seen lots of natural disasters on BtN over the years.
But have you ever wondered how you would react if you were faced with one of those situations? Two families were put to the test and found it's not easy. But in some ways the kids did better than their parents. Here's Sarah. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: How would you react in a disaster: a bushfire, a cyclone or a flood? First up, the Matthews: there's Riley, Liam, Marg and Rod. NEWS READER: A bushfire has just started near Glenorie near Sydney’s North. With the fire 13 kays away the Matthews are told to prepare their house. Up in the northern New South Wales town of Tweed Heads another type of pretend disaster is about to hit. ELLIOT: Oh no. DALE: We've only got 24 hours to prepare. PAUL: We have to, um, get the water. Cyclone: 08/02/2011, Behind the News. Queensland has been hit with yet another natural disaster, this time a cyclone up north.
And sadly, for a state still struggling to recover from the floods further south, it was massive. Let's take a look at exactly how destructive this storm really was and how the people of the north fared. ANNA BLIGH, QLD PREMIER: We are facing a very frightening time and many people in far north QLD over the next 24 hours or more will be facing an event that will be terrifying. Yasi was poised to unleash it's fury on a huge area, stretching from Cairns to Townsville and beyond; and it was rated as a category five cyclone, which is the highest category there is. People living there were told to evacuate, as there was a real danger they could be killed. The 285km/hr winds battered all through the night and by morning, locals woke up to find homes completely flattened, roofs ripped from buildings, cars crushed and boats tossed around by the waves. Wild Weather: 17/08/2010, Behind the News. Pakistan isn't the only place that's had some wild weather lately.
There have also been floods in China and a dangerous heatwave in Russia. Here's Sarah with the answers. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Living on planet Earth has always meant living with the best and the worst of the weather. But sometimes the weather behaves in a way you just don't expect and in extreme cases it can be deadly. This is Russia, a country known for its cold winters and mild summers.