Tag: bushfire

Australia firefighters race to contain blazes as heatwave looms

  by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse Firefighters raced to contain massive bushfires in southeastern Australia Tuesday, taking advantage of a brief drop in temperatures and some much-needed rainfall before another heatwave strikes later this week. Exhausted volunteers cleared ground vegetation and carried out controlled burns before temperatures and winds were expected to pick up again by Friday. “It really is about shoring up protection to limit the damage potential and the outbreak of the […]

Continue Reading →

Tourists at risk as heatwave fuels Australia bushfires

Sydney, Australia (AFP) — Thousands of tourists risked being stranded in Australia’s south east Monday, as a new heatwave left firefighters across the country bracing for another round of potentially catastrophic bushfire. Hundreds of blazes are burning across Australia, which is experiencing a devastating summer bushfire season fueled by a prolonged drought and climate change. More than 30,000 people were told to evacuate Victoria state’s popular East Gippsland region Sunday amid fears soaring temperatures and gusting winds […]

Continue Reading →

Tourists, firefighters flee as new heatwave fans Australia blazes

by Holly ROBERTSON Agence France Presse Tourists and firefighters were forced to flee vast fires burning in southeastern Australia on Monday, as a heatwave rekindled devastating bush blazes across the country. Authorities said “quite a number” of the 30,000 tourists visiting the usually picturesque southeast tip of the continent had heeded calls to evacuate. More than a dozen blazes are raging in the East Gippsland countryside, some so intensely that hundreds of firefighters were pulled […]

Continue Reading →

Toxic Sydney bushfire haze a ‘public health emergency’

  by Holly ROBERTSON Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s biggest city is facing a “public health emergency” over the bushfire smoke that has choked Sydney for weeks, leading doctors warned Monday after hospitals reported a dramatic spike in casualty department visits. Hundreds of climate change-fuelled bushfires have been raging across Australia for months, with efforts to contain a “mega-blaze” burning north of Sydney destroying an estimated 20 homes overnight and fires near […]

Continue Reading →

Australia readies for ‘catastrophic’ bushfires

by Holly ROBERTSON / with Daniel de Carteret in Taree, New South Wales WINMALEE, Australia (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters fanned out across eastern Australia Tuesday as gale-force winds, scorching temperatures and tinder-dry bushland brought “catastrophic” fire conditions. Dozens of bushfires were already burning out of control as temperatures were expected to climb toward 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and winds were forecast to top 60 kilometers (40 miles) per hour in parts of New […]

Continue Reading →

Sydney region faces ‘catastrophic’ bushfire threat

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A state of emergency was declared on Monday and residents in the Sydney area were warned of “catastrophic” fire danger as Australia girded for a fresh wave of deadly bushfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken east of the country. For the first time, Australia’s largest city and the surrounding area faced the highest level of fire warning — with authorities cautioning that “lives and homes will be at risk”. “There is […]

Continue Reading →

Australia bushfires leave three dead, at least 150 homes lost

  by Daniel DE CARTERET Agence France Presse BOBIN, Australia (AFP) — Catastrophic bushfires in eastern Australia have killed at least three people and forced thousands from their homes, with the death toll expected to rise as firefighters struggle towards hard-to-reach communities. In the normally picturesque coastal town of Forster — one among dozens hit along the eastern seaboard — vast plumes of smoke shot out from multiple blazes as water bombers swooped in overhead. […]

Continue Reading →

Two dead, at least 100 homes lost in Australia bushfires

  by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — At least two people have died and 100 homes have been destroyed as an unprecedented number of bushfires tore through eastern Australia Saturday. New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian also said seven people were unaccounted for, as firefighters tried to contain dozens of out-of-control blazes that have raged in the state since Friday. “I’m sorry to say that number can increase during the day,” […]

Continue Reading →

100 volunteers aakyat sa Mt. Kanlaon para apulain ang bushfire

Tinatayang nasa isang daang volunteers ang aakyat sa Mt. Kanlaon para apulahin ang lumalawak na bushfire sa bulkan. Nangangamba ang mga awtoridad na kung hindi ito maapula ay kumalat ito sa kagubatan. Sa kasalukuyan, nakataas sa alert level 1 ang sitwasyon sa Mt. Kanlaon matapos itong magkaroon ng ash erruption. Nabatid na nagbunga ng bush fires ang ash erruption na may kasamang nagbabagang bato sa bulkan. Tuyo na kasi ang mga damo sa paligid ng […]

Continue Reading →
1 2