Bushfires continue to rage across the east of Australia as the region prepares for what New South Wales state Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said could be “the most dangerous bushfire week this nation has ever seen.”
Credit: Associated Foreign Press
Both NSW and Queensland have declared a state of emergency as over 120 bushfires burn across the two states.
The “catastrophic” warning is in place across the greater Sydney area and regions to the city’s north and south.
In the northeast, 150 homes have been engulfed and 850,000 hectares of forest and farmland razed since Friday.
In Queensland, around 5,000 homes have been evacuated over the last 48 hours, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporting residents are unable to return.
This already dire situation is expected to worsen as rising temperatures threaten to facilitate the fires’ spread throughout rural areas.
“Under these conditions, these fires will spread quickly and threaten homes and lives,” NSW Rural Fire Service said in a statement.
Bushfires are commonplace in Australia during the spring and summer months, but intense heat, strong winds and low humidity have created perfect conditions for the fires to spread.
“We’re experiencing tinder box-like conditions across much of the state and all it takes is one spark to start a fire that may burn for days,” explained Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting commissioner Mike Wassing.
