Australian record set as giant 16cm hailstones hammer North Queensland

Queensland: Tornadoes one day, 16cm hailstones the next.

A new Australian hail record is believed to have been set after giant ice stones pelted Yalboroo, north of Mackay, on Tuesday afternoon, smashing windshields and drawing the attention of international weather watchers.

The Bureau of Meteorology said it had seen credible footage of hail measuring 16cm in diameter, which would top the previous record of 14cm set in Brisbane's southwestern suburbs about the same time last year.

"It's very impressive - obviously not for the residents underneath it - but some very impressive hail," senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.

"We saw some photos of hail next to a tape measure, the team will be looking at that to see if we can verify it."

Social media was flooded with images of hailstones, some clearly bigger than an adult's hand.

"That's not hail. That's more like a glacier," Karen Gillick wrote on the Higgins Storm Chaser Facebook page.

Giant hail pelted the Yalboroo community north of Mackay.

"Hail this size should be called "Widowmaker" hail," said Patrick Schubert.

"Holt sh*tballs. Looks more like an iceberg. It's true. Everything in Australia is trying to kill us," said Kerrie Murphy

"An insurance company's nightmare," added Bret Dalziel.

Footage posted by Christopher Harvey showed severe damage to his car, with the windscreen smashed in.

Christopher Harvey was caught in the hail north of Mackay.

"That is some big ice. Jesus. I'm going to have some dints after this," Mr Harvey said.

Storms are expected to linger over the southeast and central Queensland coasts on Wednesday, with large to giant hail a possibility,

Elsewhere, showers are tipped for the Illawarra and a storm could hit Sydney.

A large weather front and low pressure system over Western Australia had winds of up to 108km an hour battering Rottnest Island and bringing heavy rain. The BoM said this was likely to move into South Australia, pushing hot and damaging winds across the state's north and western regions.

Severe to extreme heatwave conditions are expected to continue across the top end after several Northern Territory towns set October temperature records.

Tennant Creek soared to 42.4 degrees on Tuesday.

Kerala Floods: Death toll rises to 41

Floods in Kerala have been causing havoc. The death toll due to floods has reached 41 now. On the other hand, IMD has again issued alert in this matter. IMD has predicted more rainfall in the state in the coming days.

Uttarakhand has been suffering due to downpour as well. Five people have lost their lives due to heavy rainfall.

Philippines: Death Toll Rises from Floods, Landslides in Storm's Wake

Search and rescue teams have recovered more bodies of people killed in storm-induced landslides and floods in the Philippines, raising the death toll to 30, officials said Thursday.

The toll included 14 people killed by flash floods in coastal towns in Ilocos Norte province and another nine who were buried by landslides in the mountains of Benguet province, according to national disaster management officials.

Both provinces are on Luzon, the northern island that is home to Metropolitan Manila. The other victims came from Cagayan and Pangasinan - also on Luzon - and from Palawan, an island-province in the western Philippines, officials said.

"According to a report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, as of Oct. 14, 2021, we have 30 deaths, three injured and 14 missing," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

"We sympathize [with] and offer condolences to the families of those who died in the storm."

Roque said that more than 7,000 people were huddled at 124 evacuation centers on Thursday after Tropical Storm Kompasu dumped nearly 25 inches of rain after making landfall on Monday evening.

Crop damage from the storm, meanwhile, had reached an estimated 692 million pesos (U.S. $13.65 million), Roque said, adding that the government had sent aid to affected farmers.

When it made landfall in Cagayan on Monday night, Kompasu, which is known as Maring in the Philippines, brought winds of 100 kph (62.1 mph) near the center with gusts of up to 125 kph (77.6 mph), the national weather bureau said.

Death toll from landslides, floods hits 40 in Philippines

The death toll from landslides and floods caused by storm Kompasu in the Philippines has risen to 40, with 18 still missing, the national disaster agency said on Sunday.

More than 43,000 people were displaced by Kompasu's onslaught last week, while at least 7,399 houses were damaged, the agency said.

The northern province of Ilocos Sur reported the highest number of dead at 14, most from flash floods, while five were still missing there.

Nine were killed in the nearby province of Benguet, mostly in landslides, while seven died from landslides, electrocution and drowning in the province of Pangasinan.

Five drowned in floods in the western province of Palawan, while five died in the northern provinces of Ilocos Norte, Cagayan and La Union.

Damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated at more than 3.22 billion pesos (64.5 million dollars), the disaster agency said.

The Philippine archipelago is hit by an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year.

The strongest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines was Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people and displaced more than 4 million in November 2013.