WEB DESK
Thousands of tourists in Australia, have been given less than 48 hours to evacuate fire-ravaged coastal communities as the country braces for a heatwave on Saturday expected to fan deadly bushfires. Catastrophic blazes ripped through swathes of the continent’s south-east on New Year’s Eve, killing at least eight people and stranding holidaymakers as seaside towns were ringed by flames.
The New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service today declared a “tourist leave zone” stretching about 200 kilometres from the popular holiday spot of Bateman’s Bay along the usually picturesque south-east coast to neighbouring Victoria state, where people are also being urged to evacuate fire-threatened areas.
Visitors are being warned to leave before Saturday, which is forecast to bring gusting winds and temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius.
Many tourists and residents spent two nights isolated with no electricity or telecommunications, and dwindling food supplies, before authorities today deemed some roads out of the region temporarily safe to use. Navy ships and military aircraft have been deployed alongside emergency crews to provide humanitarian relief and assess the damage.
This season’s blazes have killed at least 18 people, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and scorched about 5.5 million hectares.