Millions brace for ‘catastrophic’ bushfires
SYDNEY - Residents across a wide swath of Australia’s east coast were bracing for “catastrophic” conditions on Tuesday, with searing heat and high winds expected to fan scores of already burning bushfires, threatening residential areas.
Millions of people across two states are subject to a seven-day state of emergency that was imposed by officials on Monday, with locals in areas deemed most at risk urged to evacuate before the worst hits.
“We really need people to stay alert, stay informed, and stay safe and act in accordance with your plan and the advice that might be given out throughout the day,” NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters.
Sydneysiders woke up to a city shrouded in smoke.
Officials have rated the harbour city at “catastrophic fire danger” for Tuesday, the first time it has received that designation since new fire danger ratings were introduced in 2009.
Home to more than five million people, Sydney is ringed by large areas of bushland, much of which remains tinder dry following little rain across the country’s east coast in recent months.
Bushfires are a common and deadly threat in Australia’s hot, dry summers, but the current severe outbreak — across several parts of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland states, as well as Sydney — weeks before the summer peak, has caught many by surprise.