Australia’s bushfire crisis has claimed at least two more lives, authorities confirmed on Tuesday, as dozens of fires tore through several towns on the east coast and forced thousands of people to take shelter on beaches.
Two people – a father and son – died when fire hit the New South Wales town of Cobargo on Tuesday, while emergency services officials held grave fears for a third person, near Narooma, on the state’s south coast.
In Victoria, where more than 200,000ha has burned in the state’s east, at least four people were unaccounted for. The armed forces stand ready to evacuate those sheltering on the state’s beaches if needed.
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Eleven people have been confirmed dead across all states in this year’s bushfire season so far.
The NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said it was “absolutely” the state’s worst bushfire season on record as he warned the reality of the damage would become clear only once the fires were under control.
“We need to brace ourselves for a considerable number of properties, a considerable number of homes that are likely to have been damaged and or destroyed right across these eight emergency warning fire areas, given the extraordinary nature of the fire behaviour and fire spread today,” he said.
Source: Australia bushfires: towns devastated and lives lost as blazes turn the sky red
