The Prime Minister pointed to "successful" flood mitigation measures like levees erected around Tasmania's rivers that successfully held back torrents of water from areas like Launceston as well as the removal of silt from the Tamar River.

The damage bill from Tasmania's wild weather is expected to top $100 million and two people are missing.

Mr Turnbull flew down from Sydney for the day to inspect the Launceston flood levee and announce emergency relief funding available to communities with Premier Will Hodgman. 

During the visit, local Liberal MP Andrew Nikolic said that no-one was "silly enough to try and link a single event to climate change" and pointed to Tasmania's flood history.

"This has been an event we've seen before here in Tasmania and in Launceston. Not as bad as the 1929 flood, which was much worse, but it is a frequent event. 

"I'm pleased to see that the levies stood up to the test that mother nature's wrath imposed upon them. As for linking single events to the broader issue you're raising, I don't think anyone's doing that. This was a one-in-65 year event," he told Fairfax Media. 

Speaking to ABC radio on Monday, Greens leader Richard Di Natale said "very clear" scientific consensus linked climate change to weather events like the storms and flooding experienced along the east coast over the last week

"For example the major increase in water temperatures, most of that being felt here of the east coast of Tasmania, that is a contributing factor to these storms.

"Over and above all of that, we need to do what we can to prevent or mitigate against dangerous global warming."

Twin fires burn more than 4,500 acres and trigger evacuations in San Gabriel Valley

Evacuations are ordered in Azusa and Duarte as the fast-moving fires burn near homes. A red flag warning is issued for Southern California through Tuesday morning amid a blistering heat wave.

Updated 15 minutes ago

Thousands of Los Angeles residents lost power Monday as scorching temperatures kept people inside while  running fans and air conditioners that strained the power grid, officials said. As of 9:30 p.m., about 6,200 Department of Water and Power custom...

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