Accessibility links

Breaking News

Australia’s Heat Wave Knocks Out Power in Sydney


FILE - Volunteer life guards from North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, keep an eye on swimmers enjoying Christmas day on Bondi Beach, Sydney, Dec. 25, 2018. Australia sweated through one of its hottest Decembers ever, and January wasn't any better.
FILE - Volunteer life guards from North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, keep an eye on swimmers enjoying Christmas day on Bondi Beach, Sydney, Dec. 25, 2018. Australia sweated through one of its hottest Decembers ever, and January wasn't any better.

Power outages hit around 45,000 homes across Sydney’s upmarket eastern suburbs Thursday as a forecast 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) heat wave hit the harbor-side city, with media reports of people being trapped in elevators and one hospital losing power.

As Australia swelters in a protracted heat wave, which has lasted weeks, distribution company Ausgrid said emergency crews were investigating the cause of the widespread outage, which is rare in the eastern beachside suburbs.

Power was lost to homes and businesses in suburbs from beachfront Bondi to the well-heeled areas of Double Bay and Woollahra. Police warned drivers to take care with dozens of traffic lights blacked out.

Ausgrid, which provides power to more than 1.7 million customers down the east coast, later said power had been restored to 10,000 homes around Double Bay.

Australia’s bureau of meteorology Thursday warned hot dry weather could persist to the end of April, with a 70 percent chance the majority of the country will experience above average temperatures.

A rescue helicopter drops water as Tasmania Fire Service responds to bushfires in Huon Valley, Tasmania, Australia, Jan. 30, 2019. In Sydney, tens of thousands of homes lost electricity during the heat wave.
A rescue helicopter drops water as Tasmania Fire Service responds to bushfires in Huon Valley, Tasmania, Australia, Jan. 30, 2019. In Sydney, tens of thousands of homes lost electricity during the heat wave.

A record-breaking heat wave across southeastern Australia earlier this month triggered outages in some areas and sent power prices soaring, while bush fires have destroyed homes in the southern island state of Tasmania.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG