The fires in Australia are far from being under the control of the authorities, which have decreed forced evacuation in some areas of the country and have included the Army in firefighting efforts. The outrage over the at least 17 deaths counted throughout the country led some citizens to raise the prime minister, Scott Morrison, during his visit to one of the locations affected by the fires.
Military ships and helicopters have rescued thousands of people caught in the last hours of wildfires in southeastern Australia, while in other cities of the country long lines have been formed in supermarkets and service stations, in search of basic supplies and shelter to escape the fire. More than 50,000 people have no electricity and thousands of residents cannot access drinking water. Tens of thousands of people continued on Thursday the escape of forest fires that burn with renewed virulence since last Monday and that have already claimed the lives of at least 17 people across the country.
According to Australian authorities, five military helicopters helped fire crews bring water and fuel to those affected by fires on the south coast of the country. The vehicles will also serve to continue the evacuation of injured, elderly and children affected by the emergency. Security forces urged a "mass exodus" in several cities on the southeast coast - a popular area among tourists during summer vacations in the southern hemisphere - and have warned that the forecast of extreme heat for the Weekend will further fan the fires. Driven by high temperatures, prolonged drought and high winds, more than 200 fires remained active on Thursday in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
The fires have already destroyed more than 1,300 homes and, since the beginning of the season last September, they have already consumed about four million hectares of scrubland throughout the country. "The priority today is to fight fires and evacuate, taking people to a safe place," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Neighbors of the town of Cobargo, in New South Wales, on Thursday increased Morrison when he visited the town. "I should be ashamed" for letting "the country burn," some citizens shouted. Morrison has been accused of lack of decisive measures to help communities deal with the hundreds of fires that have swept the country in recent months.
The threat of the situation getting worse in the coming days persists. In the State of New South Wales, the most affected by the fires, the Government has declared, since last Friday, the state of emergency due to forecasts of temperatures that are expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius. The authorities have taken control of the services and have the power to evacuate "by force" the inhabitants of the affected areas. Michelle Roberts a neighbor of Mallacoota, a coastal city in southeastern Australia explained to the Reuters agency: "It is the hell on earth. It is the worst thing anyone has ever seen, ”he said. A military ship arrived on Thursday in that city, where some 4,000 people had been stranded on the beach since Monday night.
Thousands of people were also evacuated from the East Gippsland region, in Victoria, in one of the largest such operations in the country, since in 1974 the city of Darwin evacuated more than 35,000 people after Cyclone Tracy. A contingent of 39 US firefighters landed Thursday in Melbourne to help with the extinction.
https://elpais.com/internacional/2020/01/02/actualidad/1577987379_272679.html
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