The Australian Defence Force is set to help survey cyclone-hit towns in central Queensland today as the region begins counting the cost of Cyclone Marcia.

The fierce category 5 system made landfall near Shoalwater Bay on Friday morning before grazing Yeppoon and passing over Rockhampton.

Leanne Smith, whose daughter and two grandchildren, aged 7 and 11, were evacuated from their Yeppoon home, said she couldn't believe what was left when she returned to survey the damage.

"I was actually really emotionally affected by it," Ms Smith told AAP.

"It's just not something you can really explain to people, it's actually quite devastating."

Miraculously, the family's goldfish survived the storm and was found swimming around in its small tank surrounded by the home's fallen walls.

"It was called Pig, but my grandson Tarn has renamed it Superfish after this," she laughed.

The system was gradually downgraded to a category 3 cyclone as it tracked down the coast, leaving a trail of destruction with many homes having roofs torn off.

FOLLOW 7NEWS METEOROLOGIST TONY AUDEN FOR LIVE UPDATES

Rockhampton local Phil Tout was inside his home when the roof was torn off.

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Qld smashed by Cyclone Marcia

The Australian Defence Force is set to help survey cyclone-hit towns in central Queensland today as the region begins counting the cost of Cyclone Marcia.

The fierce category 5 system made landfall near Shoalwater Bay on Friday morning before grazing Yeppoon and passing over Rockhampton.

Leanne Smith, whose daughter and two grandchildren, aged 7 and 11, were evacuated from their Yeppoon home, said she couldn't believe what was left when she returned to survey the damage.

"I was actually really emotionally affected by it," Ms Smith told AAP.

"It's just not something you can really explain to people, it's actually quite devastating."

Miraculously, the family's goldfish survived the storm and was found swimming around in its small tank surrounded by the home's fallen walls.

"It was called Pig, but my grandson Tarn has renamed it Superfish after this," she laughed.

The system was gradually downgraded to a category 3 cyclone as it tracked down the coast, leaving a trail of destruction with many homes having roofs torn off.

FOLLOW 7NEWS METEOROLOGIST TONY AUDEN FOR LIVE UPDATES

Rockhampton local Phil Tout was inside his home when the roof was torn off.

Link:
Clean up begins after Cyclone Marcia's destruction

The Australian Defence Force is set to help survey cyclone-hit towns in central Queensland today as the region begins counting the cost of Cyclone Marcia.

The fierce category 5 system made landfall near Shoalwater Bay on Friday morning before grazing Yeppoon and passing over Rockhampton.

Leanne Smith, whose daughter and two grandchildren, aged 7 and 11, were evacuated from their Yeppoon home, said she couldn't believe what was left when she returned to survey the damage.

"I was actually really emotionally affected by it," Ms Smith told AAP.

"It's just not something you can really explain to people, it's actually quite devastating."

Miraculously, the family's goldfish survived the storm and was found swimming around in its small tank surrounded by the home's fallen walls.

"It was called Pig, but my grandson Tarn has renamed it Superfish after this," she laughed.

The system was gradually downgraded to a category 3 cyclone as it tracked down the coast, leaving a trail of destruction with many homes having roofs torn off.

FOLLOW 7NEWS METEOROLOGIST TONY AUDEN FOR LIVE UPDATES

Rockhampton local Phil Tout was inside his home when the roof was torn off.

Read the original here:
Communities rally for clean-up after Cyclone Marcia

With the downtown homeless camp rapidly expanding, both in numbers and territory, the city has filed an appeal seeking to overturn a court order officials say blocks them from doing anything about it.

On Friday, Tucson City Attorney Mike Rankin filed an appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco asking the court to review the December injunction in U.S. District Court in Tucson that blocked the city from interfering with camp residents free speech protest rights.

The city argues that U.S. District Judge David C. Bury erred in determining the protest could continue at all hours as long as five feet of the sidewalk along Church Avenue in front of Veinte de Agosto Park were left clear for pedestrian traffic.

As of Thursday, the encampment, which homeless occupants have dubbed Safe Park, had grown to more than 40 occupied crates, tents and other quasi-structures lining segments of Congress, Broadway and Church Avenue, in addition to those simply piling up belongings and sleeping bags on the sidewalks.

Under the District Courts reasoning, just as the City cannot enforce (Tucson City codes) in the face of the sit/lie exception, the City would also be precluded from enforcing its sidewalk parking ordinances against a car parked on the sidewalk, as long as the magic five feet are left open and unimpeded and the car is somehow associated with expressive conduct, Rankin wrote.

Rankin said the activities of the homeless people in the park and on the sidewalks do not appear to fit the accepted interpretation of protected speech under the First Amendment.

Tucson respectfully requests that this Court carefully parse the question of whether property used to support a 24-hour occupation is used for expressive purposes, and answer the question whether sleeping or sitting as part of a 24-hour encampment is expressive activity, Rankin wrote.

Rankin also wrote the judges decision was made in error because city code does not permit anyone, even if exercising First Amendment rights, to block the sidewalks at all hours of the day or night with objects boxes, crates, hay, grain, any merchandise, bedrolls, blankets, backpacks, ice chests, bicycles, couches, storage lockers, tents, shopping carts, covered wagons, and piles and piles of blankets.

Since the December ruling the crates, which occupants call dream pods, and other housing units have moved beyond the area Bury designated in his ruling.

Jon McLane, one of the homeless activists behind the movement and lawsuit, said he anticipates the 9th Circuit to reject the citys arguments.

See original here:
Tucson goes to 9th Circuit as homeless camp grows

Graduate students at the Department of Communication and Journalism are collaborating with Fathers Building Futures, an Albuquerque business, to help felons integrate into their families after incarcerations.

Tema Milstein, associate professor at the Department of Communication and Journalism, said the students from a PhD professional seminar class are collaborating with PB&J, a nonprofit organization working for the rights of children, and specifically with Fathers Building Futures.

This unit of the class in which we are collaborating is focused on using research and teaching to help bring about positive change, Milstein said. We really wanted to engage our graduate students, who are going to be future professors, in understanding how they can bring about positive change in their work.

Fathers Building Futures is an initiative of PB&J Family Services that provides hands-on service and skill-oriented training to previously incarcerated people in auto detailing, mobile power washing and customized woodworking, according to the PB&J website.

Fathers Building Futures aims to connect formerly incarcerated fathers with their professional and civic promises while providing affordable, meaningful and useful services to the community, a PB&J press release states. In the process, child recidivism is cut by close to 50 percent, and children benefit from a father who is not role modeling behind bars.

Fathers Building Futures is working to protect the futures of children as well as their parents, said Dean Maayan, director of PB&J Family Services Development & Strategic Initiatives.

In the majority of cases fathers are returning to jails not because they committed a new crime, but because they failed to secure housing or employment which translates to their Probation Officer as a violation of their parole plan, Maayan said. Creating a business to employ them as they leave prison was our solution to the tremendous problems these fathers face: not being able to get hired despite their talent and desire to work.

She said that many Fathers Building Futures graduates have found employment in other organizations.

This workforce development project of PB&J Family Services has been funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Assistance, through its Responsible Fatherhood community-based pilot project grant.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, children of prisoners are 10 times more likely to partake in criminal behavior than children with non-incarcerated parents.

View post:
Grad students help prisoner dads reconnect

An earthquake has rattled residents in the small Queensland town of Eidsvold, with tremors also felt in Brisbane, 430km to the south.

The 5.2 magnitude quake occurred about 2am (AEST) on Monday.

It was followed by an aftershock measuring 2.9 about 45 minutes later.

Callers to ABC radio have reported waking to rattling windows and shaking houses.

Dorothy, from Mundubbera just south of Eidsvold, said it was a strong tremor.

"The whole house shook, it just felt like the washing machine was off balance," she said.

"It shook and woke us up.

"We've been through it once before in the late 1980s. At that time the bed moved across the room but this time, well, it's not on wheels any more but it shook the whole house."

The quake was also felt as far north as Rockhampton, 322km away, and across the Sunshine Coast.

Authorities are warning of more aftershocks in coming days.

Excerpt from:
Quake rattles parts of Queensland

The small town of Eidsvold in Queensland's North Burnett region has been hit by two earthquakes, with tremors felt hundreds of kilometres away.

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred near the town, south-west of Bundaberg, shortly before 2:00am (AEST).

A second earthquake measuring magnitude 2.9 hit the region about 45 minutes later.

Geoscience Australia (GA) estimated the earthquake could have been felt by people up to 206 kilometres away and could have caused damage up to 16 kilometres away.

Seismologist Hugh Glanville said the quake, whose epicentre was about 25 kilometres from Eidsvold, could have been devastating had it hit a more populated area.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said they had not yet had any calls reporting damage but its Rapid Damage Assessment Team had been sent out to the epicentre region as a precaution.

In a statement, the Queensland Police Service said research suggested the central Queensland area from Bundaberg to Rockhampton was prone to earthquake activity.

Senior Sergeant Cameron Barwick, the Rockhampton disaster management support officer, has asked residents to be aware of these types of events by registering any information on the earthquake, or any damage or injuries sustained, with GA.

"If people have information regarding an earthquake, damage or injuries sustained they can record this history into this site after the event," he said.

Eidsvold publican Maryanne Blunt said she was woken up by the earthquake.

Excerpt from:
Earthquakes hit Queensland town of Eidsvold, south-west of Bundaberg, causing tremors in state's south-east

FUNDING cuts have hit Bradford almost 15 times harder than wealthy parts of the South, new analysis shows despite the city facing much higher care bills.

The study highlights the areas where people suffer most from poor physical and mental health, disability and early death, imposing huge extra costs on local councils.

Bradford is the 37th worst-hit of 325 authorities for "health deprivation and disability", according to the House of Commons library analysis.

And, since 2010, it has lost 213.04 of its overall spending power for every resident, according to a separate study by finance chiefs at Newcastle City Council.

Yet, the average loss in the five areas with the fewest sick and disabled people, and, therefore, much lower care costs, is calculated at just 15.41 per head approaching 15 times less.

Incredibly, spending power has actually risen at one authority, Elmbridge, in Surrey - up 8.14 per head - while it has plummeted in Bradford, down 213.04.

The gulf is seen as crucial because social care is the biggest financial burden for councils - gobbling up one third of Bradfords budget - with responsibility for public health now added.

Recently, the charity Age UK warned that older people have been left high and dry by council cutbacks to help with washing and dressing, to day care places and meals on wheels services.

Councillor Amir Hussain, Bradfords executive member for health and social care, said that was not the case in the city, thanks to back office cuts and efficiencies.

But he warned: We are reaching the point where, if these cuts continue, we will have no option but to look at what services we can no longer provide.

See the original post here:
Bradford one of hardest hit areas by cuts

First published in News Last updated by Robert Merrick, Parliamentary Correspondent

CUTS have hit the regions town halls nine times harder than wealthy parts of the South, a new analysis shows despite the North facing much higher care bills.

The study highlights the areas where people suffer most from poor physical and mental health, disability and early death, imposing huge extra costs on local councils.

The worst-hit fifth of 325 authorities includes no fewer than ten North-East areas, a list headed by Middlesbrough which is ranked fourth for health deprivation and disability.

Not far behind are Newcastle (13th), Hartlepool (14th), Gateshead (17th), Darlington (20th), Redcar and Cleveland (21st), Sunderland (25th) and County Durham (28th), followed by Stockton-on-Tees (51st) and South Tyneside (65th).

On average, those ten councils have lost 213.04 of their overall spending power for every resident since 2010, according to finance chiefs at Newcastle City Council.

Yet, the average loss in the ten areas with the fewest sick and disabled people, and much lower care costs, is calculated at just 23.19 per head more than nine times less.

Incredibly, spending power has actually risen at one authority, Elmbridge, in Surrey (up 8.14 per head) - while it has plummeted in Middlesbrough (down 289.02).

The gulf is seen as crucial because social care is the biggest financial burden for cash-strapped councils, which are now also responsible for public health.

Recently, the charity Age UK warned that older people have been left high and dry by council cutbacks to help with washing and dressing, to day care places and meals on wheels services.

View original post here:
Cuts have hit the North much harder than the South, study shows

Procter & Gamble (P&G) hasalso announced an investment of 100 million shillings investment that will provide another 100 million liters of clean water to more than 100,000 Kenyan people in the coming year.

Through the CSDW program we will be expanding our school and health clinic work with CARE into Migori County in Western Kenya which has suffered a recent Cholera outbreak, said P&G Managing Director Iacopo Pazzi.

Pazzi added that the CSDW will also expand its partnership with S.A.F.E. Kenya to educate more people about water and health issues in the Coastal Region through community theatre programmes as well as ChildFund which will focus on households in Eastern Kenya who have unsafe drinking water from open sources.

Speaking upon receiving a donation of one million liters of clean drinking water, Nairobi City County Governor Dr. Evans Kidero said that donation would help address the current cholera outbreak in Mathare and Huruma and future emergencies among the communities that cause water in this particular settlement to be turbid.

I have instructed the County Executive for Health to work with Population Services Kenya to find the most optimal way of distributing the sachets to ensure maximum coverage and protect the children of this County from diarrheal illnesses, said Dr. Kidero.

Currently, of the about 3.6 million residents of Nairobi, only half have direct access to piped water. The rest obtain water from kiosks, vendors and illegal connections. Of the existing customers, about 40 per cent receive water on a 24-hour basis. Westlands, which has the highest number of its residents with access to tapped water in their dwellings, is at a low 34.5 per cent. Reliance on water vendors is at its highest Nairobi East and Nairobi West, which are at 22.2 per cent and 19.8 per cent, respectively.

P&G began providing clean drinking water in Kenya, Guatemala and Pakistan through powder technology that kills deadly viruses and bacteria and removes dirt, parasites and other pollutants, making contaminated water clean and drinkable. Since 2004, P&G Purifier of Water (formerly Pur) packets have been shared in more than 75 countries and the program has grown to include a network of more than 150 partners.

Scientists trying to purify used laundry water developed the technology that puts the power of a water treatment plant into a tiny packet. Today, the P&G Packets enable families in developing countries to make clean drinking water in 30 minutes.

The idea of billions of liters can be hard to comprehend, but when you meet the people whose lives have been changed by clean drinking water you understand just how important it is that we continue to invest in the future of Kenya through this program and brands like Always, Ariel and Pampers. Pazzi concluded.

P&G partnered with CARE Kenya to share clean drinking water with a 13-year-old boy named Boniface Otieno and his family. At his school in Bondo, Kenya, the 13 year old helps teach fellow students to use the P&G Purifier of Water Packets and about the importance of hand washing and proper sanitation. Through the support of P&G and CARE Kenya, children like Boniface Otieno became agents of change who take what they learned at school back home to transform the health and lives of their communities.

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More Kenyans to benefit from Shs.100m investment in clean water