2014 Sydney hostage crisis
After the siege began, a staged exclusion zone was established with thousands of people evacuated from nearby buildings, including from the floors above the café. The Sydney Opera House was evacuated after a suspicious package was found; however, reports were unconfirmed by police. The US Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated. Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage situation, which meant that no school group was permitted to leave the school grounds.
HMAS Sydney (D48)
"Sydney"s failure to reach Fremantle on 20 November was not initially cause for concern, as several factors might have delayed the cruiser, none of which were sufficient reason to break the order to maintain wireless silence. However, with no sign of the cruiser by 23 November, shore-based wireless stations began transmitting orders for "Sydney" to break silence and report in. A raft of German survivors was recovered by a British tanker on 24 November, at which point a large-scale air and sea search began. During this search, which lasted until the evening of 29 November, 318 survivors from "Kormoran"s 399 personnel were found, but apart from a carley float and a lifebelt, nothing from "Sydney" or the 645 aboard was recovered.
Australian Prime Minister John Curtin officially announced the loss of the cruiser during the afternoon of 30 November. "Sydney"s destruction was a major blow to Australian morale and military capability: her ship's company made up 35% of the RAN's wartime casualties. The cruiser's loss did not have the same impact internationally; two British capital ships were destroyed during the same fortnight, and Japan entered World War II with attacks on Pearl Harbor and Singapore three weeks later.