Daily US Times, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced 3,000 troops will be deployed to help tackle raging bushfires across the country. It is the first time this has happened in Australia’s history.
Officials warned Saturday will be a ” dangerous day’ for some parts of South-east Australia as temperatures are expected to soar above 40C (104F).
The current bushfire crisis has been running since September last year and it killed 23 people so far and dozens still missing.
Morrison told Saturday the disaster escalate to an entirely new level. He also announced A$20m (£10m) has been allocated to lease four water bomber planes.
The severe fire crisis destroyed hundreds of thousands of acre of lands, and some 1,500 homes. New South Wales and Victoria are the most affected states. Fire spreads other states as well.
Australian Navy has already been deployed to help the evacuation. The navy has evacuated 1000 people from the fire-ravaged town of Mallacoota on the Victoria coast.
Navy’s landing vessels took people to two ships- MV Sycamore and HMAS Choules. Local MP Darren Chester called the evacuation an “unprecedented mass relocation of civilians”.
Mallacoota is the worst affected city by the current bushfire crisis. More than 4,000 residents and tourists fled the town to the beach on Monday night to rescue themselves.
The situation on Saturday
In Victoria, three fires have destroyed 6,000-hectare of land.
The state has already declared disaster in areas that are home to nearly 10 thousand people and urged residents to leave as soon as possible.
Some residents in the upper region of the Snowy Mountains have now been told it is too late to leave and authorities asked them to stay inside as the conditions worsen.