Australian authorities scramble to reach victims of deadly fires as death toll rises

By Colin Packham

 

Smoke from the Currowan Fire is pictured from St George’s Basin south of Nowra and looking towards Sussex Inlet and Lake Conjola, Australia, December 31, 2019 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. John Wardle via REUTERS

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A third person was confirmed dead on Wednesday in devastating bushfires that engulfed Australia's southeast coast this week and a fourth was missing and feared dead, as navy ships rushed to provide supplies and assist with evacuations.

 

At least 15 people are now believed to have died, while scores of people remain missing after weeks of fires that have ripped through Australia's east coast, much of which is tinder-dry after three years of drought.

 

Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches. Many stood in shallow water to escape the flames.

 

The toll to life and property keeps rising in Australia's devastating bush fires. Julian Satterthwaite reports.

 

Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) and new blazes are sparked almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.

 

Cooler conditions on Wednesday gave the country a moment to count the cost of the fires, although there were still more than 100 blazes in New South Wales (NSW) state alone and thousands of firefighters on the ground.

 

The body of a man was found in a burnt car early on Wednesday on the south coast of New South Wales after emergency workers began reaching the most damaged areas, and police said the death toll will rise.

 

"Sadly, we can report today that police have confirmed a further three deaths as a result of the fires on the South Coast," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters in Sydney.

 

"Police are also at Lake Conjola now, where a house has been destroyed by fire and the occupant of that home is still unaccounted for."

 

NSW police did not identify the missing man but said he was 72 years old and authorities have been unable to reach his home.

 

Police said early assessments have found nearly 200 homes have been destroyed, though they cautioned it was an early estimate.

 

In Victoria state, four people remain missing, state Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a massive blaze ripped through Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.

 

About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.

 

Mark Tregellas, a resident of Mallacoota who spent the night on a boat ramp, said only a late shift in the wind direction sparred lives.

 

"The fire just continued to grow and then the black started to descend. I couldn't see the hand in front in my face, and it then it started to glow red and we knew the fire was coming," Tregellas told Reuters.

 

"Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers started to come down. At that point, people started to bring their kids and families into the water. Thankfully, the wind changed and the fire moved away."

 

Thousands of Australians remain cut off as fires force the closure of major roads, leaving many struggling to secure supplies.

 

In Milton, a small town on the on the NSW south coast, locals queued for hours for the few remaining items left of shelves on supermarkets.

 

Emma Schirmer, who evacuated from her house in Batemans Bay with her three-month child on Tuesday, said the local shop was limiting sales to six items per customer, while a power outage meant shoppers could pay only with cash.

 

As shops run low and firefighters struggle with exhaustion, Australia's military, including Black Hawk helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and naval vessels were being deployed.

 

Victoria's emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, said the 176-metre-long HMAS Choules may be used to evacuate many of those stranded in Mallacoota, though with a capacity of 1,000 it will be insufficient alone.

 

HMAS Choules is due to arrive on Thursday.

 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were working to restore communications with areas cut off by the fires, though she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the weekend.

 

"Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were" on Tuesday, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

 

Meanwhile, Australia's capital Canberra was blanketed in thick smoke, reaching about 20 times hazardous levels, prompting health warnings.

 

The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Kim Coghill and Louise Heavens)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-02

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poor buggers, hope the fire fighters can get on top of it and get some reprieve.

The army should have been called in weeks ago not just now.

 

our hearts and prayers go out to those who have lost everything and/or loved ones.

Jeez the scale of it.  Hope Australia gets a nice rain front through sometime soon.

Even flying up the country from Melbourne to Brisbane the turbulance at lower levels and the smoke rising is surprising , The view from our small aircraft few days of the blacked areas is frightening.

Some fires according one report few minutes ago in some areas is now being driven by a southerly wind, and driving it towards the firefighters.

This has been going on since September in some regions

 

Weekend is shaping up for another <deleted> storm. We shouldn't forget WA either, the attention is on the east coast but their not having a good time either.

And saturday is expected to be horrendous,high temps and wind.

Prayers for the victims

Never fear, if we are lucky our PM might offer a prayer......if he isnt hiding again!

I have seen many devastating fire on the coast of NSW but am really having difficulty coming to terms with the extent of these. Absolutely horrific does not really describe it.

Canberra and Sydney shops running out of face masks, NZ glaciers changeing colour from smoke and ash from Australia.

17 people,unaccounted for feared dead in Victoria

Looking at the glow from the fires on the horizon now, reignighted , 

 

NSW has ordered the biggest evacuation ever, an area of 150 miles along the coast, trouble is a lot of petrol stations have run dry, or have no electric for the pumps. This is turning out to be a disaster of unprecedented proportions. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/02/australia-bushfires-tens-of-thousands-stranded-while-attempting-to-flee

 

NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said conditions on Saturday were forecast to be worse than those on New Year’s Eve.

“Those fires have spread at the absolute worst-case scenario, which typically is not what happens when it plays out on the ground,” Fitzsimmons said.

“The conditions on Saturday are likely to be worse than New Year’s Eve and a lot of those areas in the south-east quadrant of the state have the potential to be impacted and impacted very heavily.”

 

Edited January 2, 20206 yr by URMySunshine