SYDNEY – Australia urged a near quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday and prepared military backup as authorities said the next few hours could be “very, very challenging” even though rain poured down in some parts.
Defense personnel stood ready to move to bushfire grounds if conditions turn extreme, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters, as soaring temperatures and erratic winds create dangerous conditions.
“Even with rain in Melbourne, even with forecast better conditions next week, there is a long way to go in what has been an unprecedented fire event…and, of course, we know that we have many weeks of the fire season to run,” Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, told a televised briefing.
“The next few hours are going to be very, very challenging,” he added.
Although officials in Australia’s fire-torn regions expect the winds to move through by Saturday morning, Andrews urged the residents to stay on high alert and leave the community if they are told to.
Australian authorities sent the 240,000 people of Victoria emergency messages telling them to ‘leave’. Residents in high-risk New South Wales and South Australia regions were also urged to think about leaving, but officials did not confirm how many.(Reuters)
