Fires, floods and the end of the 'typical' Aussie summer

It seems every year or two, Australian weather stories dominate the news over here in Canada. Phrases like "once in 100 year event" have lost all meaning as massive fires quickly follow other infernos, and now another flood is swamping Queensland. 
The people at home are showing a startling resilience in the face of all this, creating "mud armies" to help each other face the onslaught. Creeks have become rivers, towns that have just recovered from the 2011 floods are setting new flood records - again - and in the north, Bundaberg is forcing people to evacuate from waters strong enough to uproot trees. 
It's crazy, especially coming on the back of ferocious bushfires that affected most of the nation just weeks ago. It's enough to make one feel guilty for planting oneself in oh-so-protected southern Ontario, where the only dangers seem to be black ice and the occasional tornado. 
Overall the rivers and inundated coastlines won't grossly impact the lives of all that many people. But it's got to be a strange and startling time. (Not to mention wet. So bloody wet!) 
But the most sobering aspect is the new normalcy that is developing. Massive storms. Near-monsoonal rains. Fires and soaring temps. The occasional is now the common, while the rare becomes an all-too-familiar face. 
What lies ahead? That's what really must have people scared right now.