WEB DESK
At least three people lost their lives and five others were missing while at least two schools and dozens of homes were feared destroyed after the country’s southeast was devastated by deadly bushfires that ripped through popular tourist areas on New Year’s Eve.
Fire-ravaged Australia has launched a major operation to reach thousands of people stranded in seaside towns. Navy ships and military aircraft were deployed alongside emergency crews today to provide humanitarian relief and assess the damage from one of the worst days yet in Australia’s months-long bushfire crisis.
This season’s blazes have killed 13 people, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and scorched about 5.5 million hectares (13.5 million acres) — an area bigger than Denmark or the Netherlands.
The unprecedented crisis has sparked street protests calling on the government to immediately act on climate change, which scientists say is creating a longer and more intense bushfire season.
Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has come under increasing pressure for his response, which has included holidaying in Hawaii as the disaster unfolded a