Ex-tropical cyclone Hamish remains off the central Queensland coast after a week of lashing the seaboard. Its effects have been devastating leading to a massive oil spill, which Premier Anna Bligh describes as possibly the worst environmental disaster the state has witnessed, plus the disappearance of two fishermen lost at sea.

  Tropical Cyclone Hamish is continuing to generate powerful ocean swells and fierce winds along the southern Queensland coast. The category 3 storm is about 275 kilometres east of Sandy Cape, near Hervey Bay. It maintained its intensity overnight but is expected to weaken and move away from the coast today.

  BRISBANE — Tropical cyclone Hamish is continuing to weaken off the central Queensland coast, but damaging winds associated with the storm cell have hampered the rescue effort for three trawlermen missing in waters off Rockhampton. Bureau of Meteorology Cyclone Warning Centre forecaster Andrea Peace said Hamish could be downgraded from a category four cyclone [...]

QUEENSLAND — While it is still far too early to become complacent, Queenslanders are breathing a sigh of relief this morning as Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish now looks like remaining offshore for now, according to weatherzone.com.au.  At 7am EST, Hamish was situated approximately 215 kilometres northeast of Yeppoon and was moving southeast at 12 kilometres [...]

  Evacuations continued Sunday along Australia’s Queensland coast as a Category 5 cyclone moved closer to the mainland. Residents were preparing for Cyclone Hamish, possibly the worst storm in almost 30 years, to make landfall Tuesday between Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. Winds of up to 280 km/h were recorded as the cyclone approached islands in [...]

  SYDNEY — Apache Energy Corp. Friday said that it has ceased production at its Stag and Legendre oil and condensate operations in offshore Western Australia because of bad weather conditions. All non-essential staff are being evacuated from the Varanus Island gas processing plant, but production is continuing as normal, Apache said. Staff are in [...]

  AUSTRALIA — A tropical low has formed off the remote west Australian coast and may develop into a cyclone this weekend, the country’s weather bureau said on Thursday, threatening iron ore mines and offshore oil and gas production. The tropical low formed about 210 km northwest of Kalumburu, in the northwest of the Western [...]

  SYDNEY (Reuters) – Oil firms began restarting operations off western Australia on Wednesday after a cyclone passed through the region and forced the shutdown of production platforms accounting for nearly half of Australia’s oil output.