News From Around the Hunter & MidCoast

08/12/2022

🔹 IMPORTANT COVID UPDATE - Lake Macquarie
🔹 Just a heads-up that the latest Covid variants are running rampant in the local community. There were 900 new local cases reported on Tuesday alone while another 17 deaths have been reported in the local health district over the past two weeks.
🔹 I'd stopped reporting weekly numbers because it's no longer mandatory to report a positive Covid case and therefore the figures are not entirely accurate. However, the number of cases which are currently being reported are concerning.
🔹 It's also important to remember that while these Covid variants do not pose a great threat to most of us with vaccinations up to date, they do to many people, especially older people and the immunocompromised.
🔹 The latest figures are below, and the best advice I can give you is to be aware of the latest wave and avoid crowded indoor places.
🔹 Masks, while not compulsory, provide significant protection against infection.

🔹 Lives lost in Hunter Health district in past week: 8
🔹 Lives lost in NSW in past week: 35 (5572 since start of pandemic)
🔹 Hospitalisations in the Hunter this week: 78
🔹 Admitted to ICU in the Hunter this week: 3
🔹 New cases in the Hunter last week: 2414
🔹 New cases in NSW last week: 37,088
🔹 See NSW Health's full weekly report here:https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Documents/weekly-covid-overview-20221203.pdf
🔹 All data issued by NSW Health on December 8. All data relates to week ending December 3.

07/11/2022

Tomorrow night (Tuesday 8 November) there will be a full lunar eclipse, causing the blood moon phenomenon.

A lunar eclipse is when the sun, the Earth and the moon align allowing the moon to pass through the shadow cast by the Earth. The red colour is a result of how light is filtered through atmosphere - red has the longest wavelength so makes it, whereas colours like blue have a shorter wavelength so the light scatters.

The key times are:

Moonrise - 7.19pm
Partial eclipse begins - 8.09pm
Totality begins - 9.16pm
Maximum eclipse - 9.59pm
Totality ends - 10.41pm
Partial eclipse ends - 11.49pm

Because of the position of the Earth and the moon, this will be the last lunar eclipse we will see in totality until 2025.

07/11/2022

Scam alert! Don’t get fooled by emails or SMS claiming to be from myGov that ask you to give your personal details via a form or link to get a refund.

myGov will never ask you to click on a link or open any attachments in texts or emails.

If you get a suspicious message, don’t open any attachments or click on any links.

You can find more information about return scams and how to protect yourself from them here: servicesaustralia.gov.au/mygov-refund-email-scam

17/10/2022

🔘 LIGHT PLANE CRASH
- (MAITLAND LGA)

- 2:46PM, Monday 17th October

A man has been seriously injured in a light plane crash at Luskintyre, in the state's Hunter Valley.

The aircraft is believed to have exploded in flames as it crashed into a field on approach to an airstrip, 50-metres from Luskintyre Road, north-west of Maitland, around 2pm.

FRNSW fire crews from Rutherford and Branxton-Greta Fire Stations were quickly on the scene, along with NSW Police and NSW Ambulance, and have covered the area with fire retardant foam.

A man, aged in his late 40's, was found lying on the ground near the wreckage.

He is being treated for serious burns to his arms and legs.

▪️View and be alerted to more incidents near you by downloading the NSW Incident Alerts App. Try for free today; https://apple.co/39Y5tW2

17/10/2022

⚠️🌧 SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL, MAJOR FLOOD RISK
- LARGE PARTS OF

- 7:28PM, Monday 17th October

This is certainly not the news we wanted. Heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms will spread across the state this week, adding more water to already flooded rivers.

The red shading on the map above shows areas that are expected to see more than 80 mm of rain this week. The purple areas could see more than 100 mm, while the blue shading near the QLD-NSW border is where this forecast model anticipates more than 200 mm of rain over the next seven days.

The severe weather will be noticed from Wednesday involving intense thunderstorm activity on numerous days.

Unfortunately, this week’s rain and thunderstorms will impact areas of NSW that are currently being affected by flooding from recent rain. In some areas, this week’s wet weather will cause renewed river level rises and hamper clean-up operations.

We urge people across the state to keep updated as this unfolds as each model run will have different rainfall totals and areas most at risk. What we do know is there is a lot of rainfall to come this week with a significant flood risk as a result.

We will continue to provide updates throughout the week. View and be alerted to severe weather, flooding and road closures by downloading the NSW Incident Alerts App. Try Free for 7 days; https://apple.co/39Y5tW2. For SMS alerts only, visit www.nswincidentalerts.com

For emergency help in floods and storms, call NSW SES on 132 500 and if life-threatening, call 000 (Triple Zero).

📸 and article: www.weatherzone.com.au
Model: EC, Next 7 Days

17/10/2022