The Loop: Murray River rises as Echuca braces for second flood peak, the cost of the Bureau of Meteorology's rebrand, and a giant fish record

Hi there. It's Wednesday, October 19 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news. 

Let's start with the latest on the floods

The Murray River on the New South Wales-Victoria border is edging closer to overflowing its banks as nearby communities brace for flooding. Here's the latest:

• Echuca is bracing for its second flood peak in a week from a surge in the Murray River, which is now expected around late Friday or Saturday
• The peak in Echuca will coincide with a rain front that could deliver between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain across the region
• There are nine Emergency Warning alerts in place across Victoria, mainly in the state's north and north-west, while communities downstream have been issued with Watch and Act alerts
• In Kerang, the community has been ordered to evacuate immediately or risk being cut off by floodwaters from the Loddon River for up to a week
• The Avoca River has begun to recede in Charlton with parts of the town reopening today,
• In Rochester, residents have been told not to flush toilets after floodwater destroyed the town's sewerage system
• South Australia's Riverland is also expected to see daily flows down the Murray River reach levels not seen in nearly 50 years, with the SA government warning people to be prepared, but not alarmed

You can look back at today's flooding and weather developments across the south-east of the country with our blog here.

We heard more about the Bureau of Meteorology's rebrand

If you missed it yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology has asked us to stop calling it the "weather bureau" and the "BOM" as part of a rebrand — and now the cost of the exercise has been confirmed to be upwards of $200,000. Here's the lowdown:

• A breakdown provided to the federal government put the total cost at $220,296, with a $118,177 contract awarded for "brand strategy and design", $69,300 for "communication and implementation planning support" and $32,819 on "implementation costs"
• The Bureau of Meteorology rebranding exercise has been underway for more than 18 months and began under the former, Coalition, government
• Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says it's "ridiculous for the BOM to be talking about rebranding" amid flooding in the eastern states
• Ms Plibersek says "Australians will make up their own minds about what they call" the Bureau of Meteorology
• If you're wondering what the ABC will be referring to it as (given the ABC is an emergency broadcaster), our style guide hasn't been updated — although editorial advisor for language Tiger Webb says the proposal will be formally discussed next month

You can read more of this story by national affairs editor James Glenday here.

News you might have missed

• The jury has retired to consider its decision in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019. The case ran for 12 days and heard evidence from almost 30 witnesses.
• Pauline Hanson has been ordered to pay $250,000 to former senator Brian Burston for defamatory comments she made during a TV interview in which she falsely alleged he sexually abused a female staffer in his office.

• NSW parliament has confirmed members of the British royal family will visit Australia in 2024 — but details of which members of the royal family will be heading down under haven't been released.

What Australia has been searching for online

• MONA FOMA. Some big-name international acts have been added to the festival's line-up — with Bikini Kill, Peaches and Angel Olsen joining Bon Iver and Pavement in playing Hobart or Launceston shows at the 2023 festival.
• James Corden. The owner of high-end New York City restaurant Balthazar has reversed his decision to ban the comedian from his restaurant after he "apologised profusely" for his "abusive" behaviour towards his staff.

One more thing: A giant fish record

If you hate the ocean and deep sea creatures, you might want to scroll past this one.

Scientists have found the heaviest bony fish in the world — a giant sunfish, weighing in at a whopping 2,744 kilograms, measuring 3.59 metres tall and 3.25m long.

The sunfish was discovered on Faial Island in the Azores archipelago in the central North Atlantic Ocean last December.

The previous record for a giant bony fish was from Japan in 1996, which weighed 2,300 kilograms.

You're up to date

We'll be back to do it all again tomorrow.

ABC/wires