Australia authorized the forced evacuation of some residents on Thursday as thousands of tourists begin to flee areas of the southeast coast. A new heat peak is expected on Saturday, favorable to the progression of deadly fires.
Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of New South Wales, declared a seven-day state of emergency on Thursday that will allow forced evacuations starting Friday. Since the start of the fire season in September, this is the third time that a state of emergency has been declared in this state, the most populous in the country.
“We don’t take this kind of decision lightly, but we want to make sure that all the necessary steps are taken to prepare for what could be a horrible Saturday,” she added.
Leave before Saturday
The announcement comes after state firefighters asked tourists to leave a 200-kilometer-long coastal area from the picturesque town of Batemans Bay (about 300 km south of Sydney) to the south and east. State of Victoria.
At least 18 people have lost their lives since the start of the fire season in September. The death toll could be further compounded, authorities in Victoria said Thursday that 17 people are missing on its territory.
People must leave before Saturday, a dark day on the fire front with sustained wind gusts and temperatures above 40 ° C. This day could be worse than Tuesday, the deadliest since the start of the crisis.
Many tourists spent two isolated nights in areas with no electricity or communications, with meager food supplies.
Unable to control lights
The evacuation of the no-go zone will be “the largest ever in the region,” New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance said on ABC.
A long line of cars stretched along the highway to Sydney on Thursday. A driver told AFP that it took more than three hours to travel just 50 kilometers.
State fire department deputy director Rob Rogers added that firefighters were unable to extinguish or even control the fires in progress. “There are so many fires in this area that we are unable to contain” the disaster, he told ABC. “We just have to make sure there is no one left in their way.”
More than 400 homes have been destroyed in the past few days, a number that is expected to increase as firefighters reach the most remote hamlets.
Military ships
Military ships and planes have been deployed, as well as emergency personnel, to deliver humanitarian aid and assess the damage in the most remote areas.
Two ships arrived Thursday morning in the seaside town of Mallacoota, where people took refuge on the beach on Tuesday to escape the flames that reached the city.
Up to 4000 people are expected to be evacuated at first. These operations could last several weeks, according to officials.
Commander Doug Laidlaw, of the Victoria State Firefighting Force, said the first people are expected to arrive on the ships Friday morning. Children, the sick and the elderly have priority.
Since the start of the fire season, more than 1,300 homes have been burnt to the ground and 5.5 million hectares have gone up in smoke, an area larger than Switzerland.
A “sensible” climate policy
This unprecedented crisis has sparked demonstrations calling on the government to take immediate action against global warming, which scientists say is behind the fires that are earlier, longer and more violent than ever.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has renewed his support for the lucrative but highly polluting Australian coal industry, is widely criticized. On Thursday, he gave his first press conference since the resumption of the fires and defended his policy on climate change, which he described as “sensible”.
Source: ATS
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