Forced evacuation ordered in Australia

Cars line up to leave the town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales to head north on Thursday. Pic/AFP

Melbourne: Australian authorities on Thursday declared a state of emergency and forced evacuation of residents, tourists and closure of roads in the states of New South Wales and Victoria ahead of Saturday's forecast of "horrible" fire conditions due to the intensified heat wave.

Catastrophic blazes ripped through the country's south-east on New Year's eve, killing at least eight people and stranding holidaymakers. One man was confirmed dead and there are ''grave concerns" regarding 17 people who are still missing in Victoria while in NSW, seven people were confirmed dead.

A satellite image by Copernicus Sentinel imagery, twitter page dated Dec. 31, 2019, shows wildfires burning across Australia. Pic/AP

New South Wales government on Thursday declared state of emergency for a week starting Friday which would mean forced evacuations and road closures for people in bushfire zones ahead of Saturday's forecast "horrible" fire conditions. Authorities have urged people to leave the impacted areas if they can as the Rural Fire Service department is expecting tough conditions over the weekend.

"So we're going to have a very long, difficult day of hot, dry winds, dominating out of the north, north-west before a southerly change emits. It is going to be a very dangerous day. It's going to be a very difficult day,'' Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

Children play at the showgrounds in haze in the town of Bega after being evacuated from nearby sites on December 31. Pic/AFP

As of Thursday, NSW was struggling with 113 fires burning across the state with over four million hectares burnt.At least 18 people are now known to have died in one of Australia's most devastating bushfire seasons yet, and there are growing fears the toll could rise dramatically. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews declared a state of disaster across large areas of the state.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday said Australia's existing emissions reduction policies will do enough to protect the environment and seek to reduce bushfire risks.

A kangaroo tries to move away from bushfires in Nowra. Pic/AFP

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