INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Thousands of people have fled to a beach in Victoria, Australia, to escape bushfires racing towards the coast.Locals in Mallacoota
described a "terrifying experience" of camping on wharves and boarding boats under blood-red skies.Military aircraft and vessels are to be
sent to help rescue efforts.Officials confirmed another two people had been killed by fires in New South Wales (NSW), bringing the
fire-linked death toll to 12.Authorities say four people are missing in Victoria and another in NSW.The beach town where fires turned day to
night The bodies of the latest victims - believed to be a father and son - were found in the NSW town of Corbargo, which was hit by a
"Very tragic set of circumstances," said NSW police deputy commissioner Gary Worboys
"[They were] obviously trying to do their best with the fire as it came through in the early hours of the morning."In Mallacoota, the local
fire service said a change in wind direction had taken the worst of the fires away from the town."I understand there was a public cheer down
at the jetty when that was announced," said chief officer Steve Warrington
More than a dozen "emergency-level" blazes span a 500km (310 miles) stretch across two Australian states - from Batemans Bay in New South
Wales to Bairnsdale in Victoria
Several holiday spots along the coast have been cut off and the main road in the region - the Princes Highway - has been closed.Victoria's
state premier, Daniel Andrews, said navy ships might be called upon to provide food, water and power to the cut-off townships.'We were ready
to jump into the water'In Mallacoota, residents fled to the beach or took up shelter in fortified homes when they heard the warning siren go
off at 08:00 local time on Tuesday.One woman shared this picture of her young son wearing a mask and life jacket as the family fled on to a
boat at Mallacoota "It should have been daylight but it was black like midnight and we could hear the fire roaring," said David Jeffrey, a
"We were all terrified for our lives." "There's a rock wall that they've built to keep back the sea, and that was where we were going to
jump into the water if the radiant heat had hit," he added.The fire swept through the town destroying numerous buildings, but was kept back
from the shore by the change in wind.Firefighters had gathered at the shore as a last line of defence.Victoria's state emergency
commissioner Andrew Crisp told reporters there were "4,000 people on the beach"
Steve Warrington from the fire service said: "It is pitch black, it is quite scary the community right now is under threat but we will hold
our line and they will be saved and protected."Why extreme wildfires are so dangerous How do you fight extreme wildfires? He said there had
been "significant property losses" across the entire East Gippsland region in the past days
Authorities had urged people esidents in the NSW holiday towns of Bermagui and Batemans Bay also fled on Tuesday morning to the waterfront
or makeshift evacuation sites near the shore.Residents of Batemans Bay in NSW also headed to the water for safety Locals told the BBC they
had "bunkered in" as the front approached, raining ash on the beaches."It was bloody scary
The sky went red, and ash was flying everywhere," said Zoe Simmons in Batemans Bay.Hundreds of massive blazes have destroyed millions of
hectares in the eastern states of Australia since September.A "freakish weather event" killed a volunteer firefighter on Sunday, according
to the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS)
He is the third volunteer firefighter to have died.Samuel McPaul, 28, a newlywed, was expecting his first child
Powerful winds near the NSW-Victoria border - generated by the fires - lifted his 10-tonne truck off the ground and flipped it over, the
service said.Two other firefighters were also injured and suffered burns
The sacrifices of Australia's firefighters Is climate change to blame for Australia's fires? Temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in every state
and territory at the start of the week, with strong winds and lightning strikes bolstering the flames
Meteorologists say a climate system in the Indian Ocean, known as the dipole, is the main driver behind the extreme heat in Australia.But
much of Australia is also suffering from a record drought and scientists say climate change ha worsened the conditions, making it easier for
'Ground blanketed in ash'For many Australians, the final days of 2019 have been a tense and worrying time
The smoke hanging in the sky day after day is a constant reminder of communities on fire
Some are staying inside to avoid the thick, acrid smoke, while others are cancelling holidays or taking long detours to avoid roadblocks
Here in Merimbula, on the NSW coast, the sun has been blotted out, casting a deep orange haze in the sky
People on the street are describing it as apocalyptic
The smoke is now so thick it's almost impossible to drive
The ground is blanketed in ash and supermarkets are packed with people stocking up with supplies.Holidaymakers should be swimming and hiking
today, but they're checking into evacuation centres or planning escape routes.Mallacoota: Where Australia's bushfires turned day to
night
Around 1,000 people live there, but the population swells at Christmas, as Australians head to the coast to enjoy their holidays,But
on Tuesday morning - as bushfires swept the region - thousands of people fled to the beach for a different reason: safety.People in the town
woke up to thick smoke and pale, orange skies
But as the fires drew closer, the sky turned red.At 8am a warning siren sounded, telling people to head to the water
By 9.30am, the sky was "pitch black"."We were bracing for the worst because, it was black," David Jeffrey told the BBC
"Like it should have been daylight and it was black like midnight
And we could hear the fire roaring."s thousands of people fled to the beach, firefighters moved there with them."We've got three strike
teams sitting in with the community, literally standing side-by-side with our community at the beachfront," said fire spokesman Steve
Around the same time, some people were fleeing the land on boats.People in the area had been urged to evacuate
But by Monday, authorities urged people to stay put because it was too late and dangerous to leave.By 10.30am, this was the scene at
Mallacoota wharf, as people sheltered by the water's edge.Many wore gas masks to protect themselves from the smoke.
Fleeing into the ocean
was the "last resort option", Victoria's emergency management agency said on Tuesday
With the smoke blocking out the sun, a summer's day looked like night time at the beachfront.Some emergency workers, meanwhile, were
preparing to step into the heat.By the middle of the day, the sky remained reddish-orange and thick with smoke.Victoria's state premier
Daniel Andrews said navy ships may be called upon to provide food, water and power to the area
The main road in the region has been closed off."Some of these isolated communities can be accessed by sea," he said.Although no serious
injuries have been reported in Mallacoota, houses were seen going up in flames.Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks to go ahead despite
protests30 December 2019Share this with Facebook Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share this with Email ShareImage
copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe New Year's Eve fireworks display in Sydney attracts hundreds of thousands of people every yearSydney's
iconic fireworks display on New Year's Eve will go-ahead despite calls for it to be cancelled due to the bushfire crisis.
The New South
Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service granted organisers an exemption from a total fire ban covering the region.
NSW has been ravaged by bushfires
intensified by record-breaking temperatures and months of drought.
A number of fireworks displays across NSW have been
cancelled.
Organisers of the Sydney display were urged to call off the demonstration and instead donate the money to farmers and the fire
service.
A petition calling for the Sydney spectacle to be scrapped - saying it sent the wrong message at a time swathes of the country was
suffering from bushfires - has gathered more than 270,000 signatures.
The petition said A$5.8m (£3m; $4m) was reportedly spent on
fireworks in Sydney last year.
Fears Australia heatwave will escalate bushfiresA visual guide to Australia's bushfire crisisWhy Australia's
PM is facing anger over bushfiresNSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro was among those calling for Tuesday's display to be cancelled, saying it
should be a "very easy decision".
But Sydney's lord mayor Clover Moore said doing so "would have little practical benefit".
A decision to
grant the City of Sydney council approval to hold the fireworks display was made on Monday evening.
Skip Twitter post by @NSWRFS
NSW
RFS✔@NSWRFSThe Sydney Harbour fireworks have been approved to proceed tomorrow.
The NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW
are assessing a number of other Total Fire Ban exemptions.#nswrfs #nswfires #frnsw
View image on Twitter77611:54 AM - Dec 30, 2019Twitter
Ads info and privacy770 people are talking about thisReportEnd of Twitter post by @NSWRFSHundreds of thousands of people are expected to
gather at the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the midnight fireworks display, a globally renowned attraction that generates millions in tourism
revenue.
Which displays have been cancelled?A popular fireworks display in Parramatta Park was cancelled by Parramatta Council on Monday
after it failed to obtain an exemption due to the extreme weather forecast.
"Council was not granted an exemption to proceed with its
fireworks display, due to the total fire ban in place and a range of associated risks including extreme temperatures, smoke, dust and poor
air quality," Parramatta lord mayor Bob Dwyer said.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionA number of New Year's Eve fireworks displays
have been cancelled across NSWThe council said it would donate A$10,000 to the NSW RFS instead.
Other areas where fireworks displays have
been cancelled or postponed include Wollongong, Maitland, Orange, Berry, Shoalhaven, Huskisson, Armidale, Port Macquarie, Liverpool,
Campbelltown, and Tweed Heads.
Why are there calls to cancel fireworks displays?In recent months, bushfires have been raging across
Australia, where heatwave conditions, strong winds and drought have created dangerous conditions.
NSW - where Sydney is located - is the
worst-affected state, with more than 100 fires currently burning.
The sacrifices of Australia's unpaid firefightersIs climate change to
blame for Australia's fires?Deteriorating weather conditions are expected to worsen bushfires in the state on Tuesday, with temperatures
reaching the mid-30Cs in Sydney.
Media captionThe shocking aftermath of the bushfires in Balmoral - the town almost razed to the
groundThese conditions, paired with smoke from the bushfires, led to calls for fireworks displays in Sydney and elsewhere in NSW to be
cancelled.
The petition, titled "Say NO to FIREWORKS NYE 2019", said the Sydney display should also be scrapped as it "may traumatise some
people" who are dealing with "enough smoke in the air".
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian disagreed, but acknowledged the "suffering in the
community at the moment".
"Sydney is one of the first cities in the world that welcomes in the new year, and if it's safe to do so, we
should continue to do it as we've done every other year," Ms Berejiklian said.
