Earth News from TerraDaily.com
Raging bushfires in Australia destroy home and livestock
Sydney, Nov 17 (AFP) Nov 17, 2024
Dozens of bushfires were burning across Australia's Victoria state Sunday, authorities said, forcing the evacuation of residents and destroying at least one home.

Strong winds and high temperatures sparked 80 fires on Saturday, which hundreds of firefighters are battling.

Two fires in the state's western and southern regions are the most "challenging", fire authorities said Sunday, and would likely burn for "quite some time".

Victorian emergency management commissioner Rick Nugent added the two fires had burnt more than 1,900 hectares and were not yet under control.

"There are stock and agricultural losses in those areas and our teams will continue to make assessments of the impact throughout the day."

At least one home has been destroyed in the western part of the state, but there are fears more homes were lost.

Among the hundreds of residents evacuated were 10 hikers from a national park, fire authorities said Sunday.

There were no reported deaths Sunday.

Authorities have urged evacuated residents to avoid returning home until they are told it is safe.

Strong winds are expected to sweep the state Sunday afternoon and could make conditions worse, before a cold front moves in.

After several wet years, Australia has faced elevated bushfire conditions since a catastrophic 2019-2020 season.

During that so-called "Black Summer", bushfires raged across the country's eastern seaboard, razing swathes of forest, killing millions of animals and blanketing cities in noxious smoke.

The risk of intense fire weather has increased by 30 percent since 1900 as a result of climate change, according to a 2020 Oxford University study.





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Bezos's Blue Origin to 'pause' space tourism to focus on Moon efforts
The Perception War: How Artemis II Could Win the Race Without Landing
NASA delays Moon mission over frigid weather

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Maersk to take over Panama Canal port operations from HK firm
Britain's Starmer seeks to bolster China ties despite Trump warning
Artist chains up thrashing robot dog to expose AI fears

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Trump says 'very dangerous' for UK to deal with China
Denmark hails 'very constructive' meeting with US over Greenland
Where does Iraq stand as US turns up heat on Iran?

24/7 News Coverage
Polar bears bulk up despite melting Norwegian Arctic: study
US finalizes rule for deep-sea mining beyond its waters
China executes 11 linked to Myanmar scam compounds


ADVERTISEMENT



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.