Australia fires: ‘more damage, more destruction’ expected as visitors to southeast urged to evacuate
- Anyone in the southeastern tip of New South Wales state and parts of Victoria urged to get out in the next two days
- At least 18 people have died since fires broke out months ago during the southern hemisphere winter, an unusually early start to the season
Tens of thousands of holiday makers fled seaside towns on Australia’s east coast on Thursday as bushfires approached, and military ships and helicopters began rescuing thousands more trapped by the blazes.
Catastrophic blazes ripped through the country’s southeast on New Year’s Eve, killing at least eight people and stranding holidaymakers.
New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a seven-day state of emergency that allows for forced evacuations beginning on Friday, for the third time in Australia’s most populated region this fire season.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly but we also want to make sure we’re taking every single precaution to be prepared for what could be a horrible day on Saturday,” she said.
It came as the NSW Rural Fire Service declared two “tourist leave zones” stretching almost 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the town of Nowra along the coast to neighbouring Victoria state, where people are also being urged to flee.
Residents and visitors in two inland areas – which include popular holiday resorts in the Snowy Mountains – were also told to leave, with people given less than 24 hours to evacuate before a heatwave brings gusting winds and temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).