A woman has tragically died, and thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes as catastrophic flooding continues to ravage northern Queensland in Australia. Authorities have warned of a “dangerous and life-threatening” situation, with waters expected to rise further over the coming days.

Since Friday, parts of northeast Queensland have received more than 1,000mm (39 inches) of rain, with “record rainfalls” expected to persist into Monday. Queensland State Premier David Crisafulli said these floods could be the worst the region has experienced in over 60 years, with both the intensity and the duration of the rainfall surpassing anything seen “for a long time.”

The deadly incident occurred in the town of Ingham, where a woman died after the State Emergency Service (SES) dinghy she was aboard capsized after hitting a tree. The woman, who was being rescued at the time, was not an emergency worker. Five other people on board the dinghy were able to reach safety. An investigation is now underway.

In the town of Cardwell, located between Cairns and Townsville, three people had to be rescued from the roof of a submerged house. Meanwhile, a dramatic video captured a man clinging to a pole in Ingham after his vehicle was washed away, as locals in a boat helped pull him to safety.

In Townsville, the Local Disaster Management Group has warned that up to 1,700 homes may be inundated, with some homes facing floods as high as the second floor. On Sunday, thousands of residents in six Townsville suburbs were ordered to evacuate by midday, though only about 10% chose to stay behind. These areas had also been severely impacted during the floods of 2019.

Premier Crisafulli urged residents to follow evacuation orders, stressing, “In the end, houses and cars and furniture, that can all be replaced. Your family can’t.”

Andrew Cox, a resident who evacuated his home, explained that police had visited his partner’s home on Saturday evening to advise them of the risk, returning on Sunday to issue another warning. He said, “Some of the neighbours said they’d been here during floods in 2019 and that it would be fine, but we didn’t want to take a chance, so we packed up.”

New evacuation centers were opened as others reached capacity, and parts of the road between Townsville and Cairns were cut off, slowing down rescue efforts. Townsville Airport has been closed until Monday morning, while supermarkets have run out of fresh food, and many homes, including in Ingham and Palm Island, are without power.

As floodwaters continue to rise, residents have been warned to stay vigilant for crocodiles, which have been spotted in floodwaters far from their usual habitats.

Climate scientists have noted that rising ocean temperatures and a warming planet are contributing to more intense and frequent extreme rainfall events, making such disasters more likely in the future.

Barclays customers are continuing to experience significant disruptions with payments and transfers for a second day following severe IT problems that have also affected the bank’s app and online banking systems.

Since the outage began on Friday, which coincided with payday for many UK workers and the deadline for self-assessment tax returns, customers have been reporting difficulties completing essential transactions. Some have been unable to pay for everyday necessities, such as food, while others have faced serious complications, including delayed house moves.

Barclays reassured customers that cards and cash machines remained functional, although some users have disputed this, claiming they were still unable to withdraw cash. The bank has promised to “ensure that no impacted customer is left out of pocket” as it works to resolve the issue.

On Saturday afternoon, Barclays’ website acknowledged that problems persisted with both its mobile app and payment systems, warning customers to expect continued disruptions. The bank also advised that it might be unable to assist with all queries in branches due to the ongoing technical challenges.

Business owner Tim Horner from West Sussex described the toll the outage has had on his e-commerce platform, revealing that he was unable to pay his employees or remit payments to HMRC. “I’ve lost thousands of pounds,” he said, noting that numerous customers had been unable to complete transactions on his website.

Ruth, a self-employed cleaner, shared her distress over not being able to access funds from her savings account to buy necessities for her children. “There could be many single mums in the same situation with no access to money,” she said.

Barclays, one of the UK’s largest banks with over 20 million retail customers, has not disclosed the cause of the IT failure or the total number of affected customers. However, the outages have been widely reported, with over 4,000 issues flagged on the website DownDetector on Saturday, more than double the number from the previous day.

For some families, the disruption has been severe. Scott, a 27-year-old from West Sussex, explained that he and his pregnant wife were unable to move into their new house after the funds for the transaction failed to go through. “We just have to sit and wait,” he said, describing the situation as “ridiculous.”

Additionally, some customers have been unable to make payments to HMRC due to the technical glitches, potentially risking late fees for tax returns. HMRC, however, reassured taxpayers that penalties would not be imposed until March 1.

Barclays has faced similar issues in the past, with a widespread payment system failure affecting multiple UK banks last June. The Chartered Institute for IT has stressed the importance of resilient and secure banking systems, highlighting how deeply integrated digital services are into daily life.

In a statement, Barclays apologized for the ongoing issues and assured customers that the situation would be resolved as quickly as possible. “Customers should not try to make the payment again,” the spokesperson added.

Italy’s appeals court has refused to approve the expedited expulsion of 43 asylum seekers detained in Albania, dealing another setback to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s controversial migration agreement.

The migrants, whose asylum applications had already been rejected, will now be returned to Italy after the government’s third failed attempt to process asylum seekers outside European Union borders. The decision marks another legal challenge for Meloni’s administration, which has been facing resistance from the judiciary over its immigration policies.

Legal Dispute Moves to European Court

The appeals court in Rome has referred the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which is set to issue a ruling on February 25 regarding previous similar cases. Lower courts have already blocked the expulsion of smaller groups of migrants, questioning the legality of repatriating asylum seekers to third countries deemed “safe” by the Italian government.

The latest ruling highlights growing tensions between Meloni’s government and the Italian judiciary. The divide widened further after the recent deportation of a Libyan warlord, who had been arrested in Italy under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.

Meloni’s Migration Plan Faces Resistance

Italy’s migration deal with Albania, signed last year, is part of Meloni’s broader strategy to curb illegal migration. The five-year agreement aims to process up to 3,000 migrants per month in Albania, rather than in Italy. However, the policy has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups, while some European nations have expressed interest in adopting similar measures.

The 43 migrants affected by the latest court ruling were among a group of 49 asylum seekers transported to Albania by an Italian naval ship on Tuesday. According to Italian media reports, they originated from Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast, and Gambia.

Rising Migrant Arrivals in Italy

Despite efforts to tighten immigration controls, Italy continues to experience a surge in arrivals. By January 27, a total of 3,704 migrants had reached Italian shores—more than double the number recorded during the same period last year.

With the European Court of Justice set to weigh in next month, the fate of Italy’s migration agreement with Albania remains uncertain. The ruling could have significant implications for Meloni’s immigration policies and the broader European approach to handling asylum seekers outside EU borders.