For the first time in ten years, there is a catastrophic fire danger forecast for Sydney, after the bushfires in NSW and QLD escalate.
BUSHFIRE WATCH: State of emergency declared for NSW
With more than 130 bushfires continuing to burn, three people dead, over 100 injured and 150 properties destroyed by the blaze, conditions are set to get even worse by tomorrow (Tuesday, 12 November), with temperatures set to rise to 38 degrees Celcius, and wind speeds at 50km/ph.
Residents are now being urged to pack up their things and evacuate by tonight, as homes are not built to withstand the conditions that are to come by Tuesday.
The extremely rare (and dangerous) fire warnings came on Sunday afternoon by separate fire officials, the Rural Fire Service and the Bureau of Meteorology, as fires burned on the north-east and mid-north coast of NSW.
The first warning came from the Rural Fire Service after fires at Bills Crossing, north of Taree, blasted its way through almost 12,000 hectares. The service has warned people in the Johns River area to find shelter elsewhere.
The second warning came after an out-of-control fire in the Mt Nardi national park could not be contained.
Anthony Clark from the RFS has warned the coming conditions will be “as bad as it gets”.
“There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, but the simple message is we’re not going to get on top of those fires before these really bad conditions hit on Tuesday,” Mr. Clark said.
WHAT REGIONS ARE FORECAST AS ‘CATASTROPHIC’?
The Rural Fire Service has issued the warning to the greater Sydney region, including the Blue Mountains and the central coast, the Illawarra/Shoalhaven region, the north coast, the central ranges, the northern slopes, the north-western regions, the far north coast, New England, the far south coast, the southern ranges, and the lower central west plains.
STEPS TO EVACUATE
People who are warned to evacuate in the above regions are urged to start thinking of their survival plans, like heading to larger towns away from bushland.
The NSW Rural Fire Service have a bushfire survival plan on their website:
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DISCUSS WHAT TO DO IF A BUSH FIRE THREATENS YOUR HOME
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PREPARE YOUR HOME AND GET IT READY FOR BUSH FIRE SEASON
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KNOW THE BUSH FIRE ALERT LEVELS
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KEEP ALL THE BUSH FIRE INFORMATION NUMBERS, WEBSITES AND THE SMARTPHONE APP
Help and information
WATCH: Bush fire survival plan
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