Scores of wildfires yesterday continued to rage across vast tracts of Australia’s drought-stricken east coast, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes, some for the second time in a week.
The most intense fires were concentrated in the northeastern states of New South Wales and Queensland, although a fire emergency warning had also been issued for a blaze threatening the west coast city of Geraldton.
New South Wales had lost more than 200 homes since Friday last week, while 14 homes had been destroyed in southeast Queensland.
Photo: AFP
Some communities have been evacuated repeatedly as the fire danger recedes, then returns with flames fanned by strong wind changes.
Noosa North Shore Mayor Tony Wellington said residents of the Queensland town were being evacuated for the second time in a week.
“It’s bad enough being evacuated once, let alone multiple times,” Wellington told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “It’s terribly distressing, always, to be evacuated.”
A severe fire danger warning was in place for much southern Queensland, with soaring temperatures and thunderstorms expected.
“We’ve got another tough day today and there is an extended forecast that we are not out the woods by any means,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commission spokesman Michael Wassing said.
The Insurance Council of Australia said insurers had received 450 fire damage claims in the disaster areas.
In New South Wales, more than 50 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 13 firefighters were injured by catastrophic wildfires across that subsided yesterday.
At one point on Tuesday, 16 fires raged out of control at emergency level simultaneously across New South Wales, a near record number.
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned that rain that would quench the fire danger on the east coast is not forecast for months.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that she was relieved that the destruction on Tuesday had not been worse.
A week-long state of emergency was declared on Monday because of the fire danger, with Tuesday forecast to be the most dangerous day.
“I have to confess to being hugely relieved this morning that yesterday our amazing volunteers and emergency service personnel withstood the catastrophic conditions, and did manage to save life and property,” Berejiklian said.
Fitzsimmons said none of the injured firefighters had been seriously hurt.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number