Australia fires: Canberra declares state of emergency
Australian officials on Friday declared a state of emergency in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), including for the national capital of Canberra, as a large bushfire threatens to become uncontrollable amid high temperatures and strong winds.
“The combination of extreme heat, wind and a dry landscape will place suburbs in Canberra’s south at risk,” the territory’s Chief Minister Andrew Barr told reporters.
Authorities are being forced to close off roads
The declaration is the first of its kind in the ACT since fires in 2003 that burned more than two-thirds of the territory’s total land area, killing four people and destroying 470 homes.
The current fire has grown to 185,500 hectares (458,380 acres), or 8% of the ACT’s total land area.
The state of emergency, which will run for 72 hours, will give authorities greater powers to order evacuations, close roads and take control of private property.
Read more: Australian bushfires: The canary building the coal mine
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Widespread devastation
Massive bushfires have devastated Australia as the blazes continue to rage across the country. Since the start of one of the worst fire seasons on record, more than 2,500 homes have been burned, tens of thousands of people evacuated, and at least 29 killed. Here, a photographer reacts to seeing the burnt-out remains of a relative’s home in Quaama, New South Wales.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Area the size of South Korea razed
As of January 17, fires have burnt roughly 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of land, an area larger than South Korea or Portugal. More than 170 fires continue to burn in Victoria state and New South Wales. There were 82 fires burning across New South Wales, 30 uncontained, and several fires in Victoria, according to fire authorities.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Battling the blazes
Firefighters protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales, on December 30. Wildfires burning across four Australian states that day destroyed hundreds of properties and caused multiple fatalities. A volunteer firefighter was killed and three others were injured after strong winds pushed a fire truck over.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Red skies
A person stands in protective gear as nearby bushfires turn the sky red in Mallacoota, Victoria. Thousands of people in the coastal region were told to evacuate over the New Year period, while the Country Fire Authority later issued an ominous warning to residents still in the area that it was “too late to leave.” Some 4,000 people spent New Year’s Eve on the beach to avoid the flames.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Bright efforts
An air tanker drops fire retardant over the Gospers Mountain fire near Colo Heights, northwest of Sydney, Australia on November 15, 2019. The Gospers Mountain fire originated in the Wollemi National Park, and came close to merging with other major fires in the area. Fires have torn apart the Blue Mountains, a popular tourist area, burning more than 500,000 hectares of land.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Quick escape
A burnt bicycle lies on the ground in front of a house destroyed by bushfires on the outskirts of the town of Bargo, near Sydney, on December 21, 2019. The town was hit with a catastrophic fire danger warning as fires turned several nearby homes to ashes. The New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency that same week.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Toddler receives posthumous medal for firefighter father
Firefighters are among the 28 people who have lost their lives in the fires. Some were volunteers. Thirty-two-year-old Geoffrey Keaton, along with a colleague, died when a burnt tree fell in the path of their fire truck. Keaton’s nineteen-month-old son Harvey was awarded one of the service’s highest honors on behalf of his father on January 2.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Animals caught in the flames
A kangaroo that survived the bushfire in Wollemi National Park in Sydney grazes for food in November 2019. The fires have not only sparked concern over human well-being, but have also created worries over the survival of endangered and vulnerable animals. The fires have killed more than a billion animals across eastern and southern Australia.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Economic toll
The Insurance Council of Australia said on January 7 that the bushfires have caused at least US$485 million (€435 million) in damage and that number was likely to rise. Separately, authorities warned of looters in towns where people have evacuated and scammers taking advantage of fundraisers for relief efforts.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Koala species threatened by fires
The bushfires have devastated Australia’s koala population. In New South Wales state alone, officials estimate 30% of koala habitat – eucalpyt woodlands, which they use for both food and shelter – may have been lost. At least 45 koalas were being treated for burns at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Australians take to the streets
Thousands of people took to the streets on January 10 in Australia’s major cities to rally against Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s inaction on climate change and his handling of the ongoing bushfire crises. The nationwide rallies were organized by university students in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.
-
Bushfires ravage Australia
Smoke across oceans
Smoke from Australia drifted across the Pacific and reached South America, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on January 7. On January 2, the EU Copernicus program recorded the highest concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide in the world over the “clean” South Pacific Ocean stemming from the fires in Australia.
A country on fire
Some 100 fires are also burning elsewhere in the country, including 58 active blazes in the surrounding state of New South Wales, 20 in the southeastern state of Victoria and 20 in South Australia.
Temperatures across NSW and Victoria were forecast to reach 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) going into the weekend.
Australia’s current fire season began months earlier than has been the case in previous years, with blazes across its east coast since September killing 33 people, burning out more than 11.7 million hectares and destroying more than 2,500 homes.
Scientists say climate change is likely to be a major factor driving the fires.
Read more: Australia bushfires send CO2 levels soaring
tj/rt (Reuters, dpa)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/australia-fires-canberra-declares-state-of-emergency/a-52211448?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf