cyclone

The inquest heard that a powerful cyclone - Storm Alfred - was battering New South Wales at the time of the incident.

The Philippines - located near the area where Pacific Ocean tropical weather systems form - is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to cyclones.

The role of climate change and its influence on tropical cyclones is more complex than other types of extreme weather as they are often driven by a combination of rainfall, strong winds and storm surge.

Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally called Tino, is the 20th tropical cyclone this year to hit the Philippines, a country prone to powerful storms.

The weather service's Varilla said that higher numbers of cyclones typically accompany La Nina, a naturally occurring climate pattern that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.