SYDNEY - Australia on Monday began the first hearings of a powerful inquiry into the causes of catastrophic bushfires that swept across the country, killing 33 people, destroying some 2,500 homes and razing an area the size of South Korea.
Fuelled by three years of drought, which experts have attributed to climate change, hundreds of fires, some massive in size, burned across Australia's east coast for months before finally being extinguished in February.
"The tragic loss of life, the destruction of homes, the significant loss of livestock and millions of hectares of forest has been devastating and continues to deeply affect people and their recovery," Mark Binskin, chair of the inquiry, said in an emailed statement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the six-month Royal Commission will investigate preparedness for future bushfires and the need for any changes to the law to clarify who is responsible for overseeing emergency authorities.
A two-week hearing of the royal commission, sitting in Canberra but being conducted electronically, has started with a focus on the changing global climate and natural disaster risk.
-reuters-
SYDNEY—An Italian restaurant in Australia has made a 103-meter (338 foot) Margherita pizza to raise funds for firefighters battling bushfires.
The pizza was rolled out in rectangular, meter-long pieces of dough, pieced together and covered with tomato sauce and mozzarella, before being baked using a conveyor oven.
It was then liberally seasoned with basil leaves, oregano and olive oil.
The effort took about 4 hours, according to Pellegrini's restaurant, and yielded 4,000 slices.
The proceeds went to the New South Wales Rural Fire service.
A video of the pizza being made has gone viral on social media with lots of users marveling at its size.
The restaurant is now holding a contest to guess how many kilograms of flour went into making the pizza.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Roger Federer demanded better communication about air quality at the Australian Open Saturday after smoke from bushfires hit the tournament's build-up, as officials announced new guidelines on pollution.
Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion, said a lack of information made matters worse for players who were forced to stay on the courts on Tuesday and Wednesday, when air quality in Melbourne was among the worst on the planet.
Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire during qualifying after a distressing coughing fit, while Britain's Liam Broady claimed "multiple" players needed asthma medication.
"I think communication is key from the tournament to the people, to the media, to the fans, to the players, because you do hear it's not safe to be outside, keep your pets inside, close your windows," Federer said.
"You have court calls, then you look at the haze and everything, it doesn't look good. How far are we from that threshold of playing, not playing?"
World number six Stefanos Tsitsipas was another player who was troubled by the smog, saying he had difficulty breathing even after practising indoors in Melbourne.
"I was coughing a lot, had troubles breathing for a couple of hours," Tsitsipas said Saturday, while Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov claimed "I wouldn't play" if conditions deteriorated during the tournament.
"I'm 20 years old, I don't want to risk my life, risk my health being out there playing in this condition," he added.
In the wake of the backlash, Australian Open organisers on Saturday unveiled a five-step air quality rating to determine when play should be halted, based on pollutants measured by monitoring stations throughout Melbourne Park.
Play will be stopped if the particulate matter rating (PM2.5) -- the solid and liquid particles suspended in the air -- hits 200, or five on the air quality scale.
Between 97 and 200 -- a four rating -- will trigger a discussion between medical staff and officials about halting play, with the match referee able to suspend a match if he sees fit.
The rules will apply to all outside courts and the Grand Slam's three arenas with retractable roofs, where play will be halted until the roof is closed.
- 'I told them' -
Some players in qualifying questioned why influential stars like Federer didn't do more to speak up on their behalf during the choking haze, but the Swiss great, who is on the ATP player council, insisted he did everything he could.
"What can I do? I can go to the office, speak to them. I went to them the first day when it was bad on Tuesday, the next day on Wednesday when it was still bad," he said.
"I told them, 'Look, I just think communication is key for all of us, for everybody'. We just need to do more because I feel like I hadn't gotten enough information.
"Can I go on court and say, Everybody stop play? I can try. I don't think that's going to do much. Maybe it was all a bit late. But I don't think I can do more than what I did."
The Australian Open gets underway on Monday, when rain is forecast. Air quality in Melbourne on Saturday was rated 'moderate', one step below 'good'.
The 38-year-old said the air quality scale was a step in the right direction, and that he was not worried about playing in smoke haze.
"From what we were told yesterday in the player meeting, the Olympic Games and other competitions have the (particulate matter) numbers set at 300. Ours is set at 200," he said.
"From that standpoint, I think we're moving in a very safe range. We're not here for six months straight at over 200, 300, you know. That's when maybe effects really become bad."
Australian Open chief Craig Tiley told reporters on Thursday he "absolutely understands the anger".
"I do think air quality for sport and for tennis is a conversation we're going to have more of in the future," he added.
mp/th
Agence France-Presse
MELBOURNE - A firefighter died while on duty on Saturday in Australia's state of Victoria, raising the toll from this season's devastating bushfires to 28 deaths as the government deploys mental health services to aid those in affected areas.
"It is with great sadness that we confirm that a ... firefighter from Parks Victoria has been involved in an incident while working on a fire in the Omeo area resulting in a fatality," Forest Fire Management Victoria Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman said in a statement.
Since October, thousands of Australians have been subjected to repeat evacuations as huge and unpredictable fires scorched more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), an area roughly the size of South Korea.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has been heavily criticized by the opposition and environmental groups for his handling of the bushfires and his stance on climate change, was set to address the crisis on Sunday morning on ABC News television.
Meanwhile, his office released a statement saying that more mental health services will be provided for those affected by the fires.
"We need to ensure the trauma and mental health needs of our people are supported in a way like we never have before," Morrison was cited as saying.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MELBOURNE/SYDNEY - Australian officials used a respite on Monday from fierce wildfires that have killed 24 people across the country's southeast to race to reopen blocked roads and evacuate people who have been trapped for days.
A second day of light rain and cool winds brought some relief from heatwave-fueled blazes that ripped through two states over the weekend, but officials warned the hazardous weather conditions were expected to return later in the week.
"There is no room for complacency," New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Monday morning. Two people remained missing as around 130 fires continued to burn in the state, though not at a high-alert level.
Authorities redoubled their efforts on Monday to provide supplies and repatriate thousands of people who have been trapped by fire lines in coastal towns for several days.
"This morning it is all about recovery, making sure people who have been displaced have somewhere safe (to go) and it is making sure we have resources to build up the presence on the ground to clean up the roads, clean up where the rubble exists," Berejiklian said.
Dean Linton, a resident of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains, used the break from an immediate threat to his town to visit his wife and four children who had evacuated to Sydney. He also used the 870 kilometer round trip to pick up a fire-fighting pump and generator to help him protect the family home.
"There's a lot of fuel in that national park; it would only take one lightning strike," Linton told Reuters.
The bushfire season started earlier than normal this year following a three-year drought that has left much of the country's bushland tinder-dry and vulnerable to fires. More than 5 million hectares (12 million acres) of land have been destroyed.
Following are highlights of what is happening across Australia:
* There were no emergency warnings in fire-ravaged states on Monday following the weather change. Victoria state had 25 "watch and act" alerts and South Australia had one "watch and act" alert. In NSW, all fires were back at the "advice" level, the lowest alert level, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
* Fire officials said the light rain that has brought some relief also posed challenges for back-burning efforts to reduce fuel for future fires and bring existing fires under control.
* In Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast, power was expected to remain out for several more days. Further south in Bermagui, food and fuel were running out, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
* Military helicopters were due to evacuate more people, including the elderly and young children, from Mallacoota on Monday. More than a thousand people were evacuated from the Victoria state town by two naval ships on Friday.
* Insurers have received 5,850 bushfire-related claims in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland since the Insurance Council declared a bushfire catastrophe on Nov 8.
* Bushfire losses are estimated at A$375 million ($260 million) since November, with a further A$56 million in insured property losses in September and October, the Insurance Council said. Figures do not include properties lost over the past 24 to 36 hours in areas such as the NSW Southern Highlands and south coast.
* Accommodation provider Aspen Group said on Monday it expects a A$500,000 hit to both revenue and net operating income from the bushfires.
* Canberra was running short of masks with the nation's capital blanketed in smoke, ACT emergency services said. The National Gallery of Australia said it was closed to protect visitors and art works. The government department responsible for coordinating Australia’s response to disasters and emergency management also closed its doors due to poor air quality.
* Army personnel plan to begin digging graves to bury more than one hundred thousand sheep and cattle killed in the bushfires.
* Actor Russell Crowe skipped Hollywood’s Golden Globes ceremony, where he won an award for playing former Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes in the TV series “The Loudest Voice in the Room.” Presenter Jennifer Aniston said Crowe stayed in Australia to protect his family from the bushfires and read remarks he had prepared where he said the fires were "climate change based."
* Prime Minister Scott Morrison continued to face criticism of his handling of the crisis. "Poor political judgment is one thing. Competency is another thing altogether. This is the political danger zone Scott Morrison wants to avoid in his handling of the bushfire crisis," Rupert Murdoch's The Australian, a supporter of the government, said in an article by the newspaper's national affairs editor on Monday.
* State officials have thanked people for donations of clothes and food, but said that cash was more useful.
* 41 US firefighters are in Victoria with a further 70 from Canada and the United States expected to join on Jan. 8, the Victoria Country Fire Authority said on Twitter.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SYDNEY -- A weather change eased fire threats in southeastern Australia on Sunday after a horror day of blazes that killed one man and injured four firefighters, though authorities said risks remained with a number of fires burning at emergency levels.
Property losses from Saturday's wildfires across eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales were estimated in the hundreds, but authorities said mass evacuations by residents of at-risk areas appear to have prevented major loss of life.
Nearly 150 fires were still burning in New South Wales, and dozens more were burning in Victoria on Sunday morning.
A southerly change that came through on Saturday night has brought cooler temperatures, after they topped 40 C in many areas on Saturday, and there was even the prospect of some light rain in coastal areas in coming days.
"It will be a reprieve of sorts, it will be a psychological reprieve for many, but it's certainly not going to be the sort of relief we're looking for in terms of getting under control all these fires or putting these fires out," NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
The death of a 47-year-old man who was defending a friend's rural property in NSW took the national toll this fire season to 24.
The weather change brought with it strong winds that whipped up fires and kept them burning overnight. In the Southern Highlands region south of Sydney, a new fire was burning out of control after the winds helped drive an existing blaze to jump the Shoalhaven and Kangaroo rivers.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the focus would be on recovery and helping those who were displaced and had lost their homes, as well as containing fires still burning. She said these were unprecedented circumstances.
"We can't pretend that this is something we have experienced before. It's not," she said, pointing to the concurrence of major fires, and threats to towns previously considered safe.
"The weather activity we're seeing, the extent and spread of the fires, the speed at which they're going, the way in which they are attacking communities who have never ever seen fire before is unprecedented. We have to accept that."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SYDNEY - Pillars of fire and smoke from bushfires are tarnishing Australia's reputation for pristine vistas abounding in wildlife and wreaking havoc on tourism, operators said, as authorities are forced to cancel concerts, close parks and evacuate towns.
The smoke has shrouded entire cities and driven air quality to unhealthy levels, with at least 10 people dying in the fires in the past week, while colonies of animals such as koalas and flying foxes have been destroyed.
"Seeing all the images of fires on television and social media is not going to help, it puts a dent in Australia's reputation as a safe tourist destination," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital.
"It's come at a time when the economy was already fragile," he added, ranking tourism as Australia's fourth biggest export whose strength officials had been counting on to help offset a domestic reluctance to spend.
Bushfires burning for weeks near the world heritage site of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney in the southeastern state of New South Wales have driven away tourists.
As visitors take to social media to warn others to steer clear, the number of busloads of tourists each day has fallen to about 4 from 15 or 20, said Stacey Reynolds, a receptionist at the Blue Mountains Backpacker Hostel in Katoomba.
"They told people not to come in and it's affected everything, from restaurants to motels to backpackers to cafes," she added. "The streets are empty."
Although there is no published nationwide data on tourism since the fires took hold in late spring, Australia attracted 2.71 million holiday makers last summer, up 3.2 percent from the previous year, as many fled the northern hemisphere winter.
Hotels in the largest city of Sydney saw a fall of 10 percent in guest numbers in December, the Accommodation Association of Australia said.
"The fires and the smoke have had a real brand and reputational damage in Sydney," added its chief executive, Dean Long.
The train and cable network of Scenic World in the Blue Mountains had 50,000 fewer visitors in December, down 50 percent from last year, Chief Experience Officer Amanda Byrne said.
Scenic World was open, but the hotels around the area are having more cancellations than bookings, she said.
Government agency Tourism Australia, which released a new advertisement last month to lure Britons to beautiful beaches and stunning scenery, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The scorching temperatures and bushfires, which have also burnt vineyards in South Australia and warmed the usually cool island state of Tasmania, will hit the sector hard, said Judith Mair, who studies tourism, environment and consumer behavior.
"It will be in stages - immediately with evacuations, dislocations and cancellations, but also in the longer term, because tourists buy holidays based on the image of a destination and Australia's is being badly affected," said Mair, a professor at the University of Queensland Business School.
Hundreds of national parks in the southeastern states of New South Wales and Victoria, thronged by 100 million visitors a year, have closed.
With fires burning nearby, Christopher Warren, co-proprietor of a bed and breakfast in Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales, said he had to evacuate his guests.
"The worst-case scenario is that we would be hit by a fire and our business would be destroyed," said Warren, who saw the best case as a loss of income exceeding A$80,000 ($56,048), through the disruption of 3 of his busiest months.
Paul Mackie, who uses AirBnB to rent out an apartment on Sydney's Bondi Beach to British and European tourists in the peak summer holiday period was hit by last-minute cancellations.
"I had bookings for the whole of this period going for the next couple of months, but a lot have cancelled because they said they saw the news of the fires," Mackie added.
AirBnB declined to comment.
A Sydney airport spokesman said it did not have recent statistics on whether the fires were hitting arrival. A Qantas spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the wildfires had hurt bookings.
The fires have spotlighted Australia's environment policies, criticized most recently at a UN summit in Madrid, said Susanne Becken, a professor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University in Queensland.
"The government's response to the climate crisis does not bode well...and this is not good for tourism," Becken said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MELBOURNE - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced enraged hecklers and an angry firefighter in a town ravaged by bushfires, piling pressure on the leader amid an unprecedented crisis that has killed at least 18 people.
A firefighter refused to shake Morrison's hand when he visited the town of Cobargo in New South Wales state on Thursday.
Video footage showed Morrison tried to grab the man's hand, who then got up and walked away, sparking an apology from the prime minister. A local fire official explained that the man had lost his house while defending others' homes.
Another man blasted Morrison for watching fireworks over Sydney Harbor from his official waterfront mansion, Kirribilli House, while fires raged further south on New Year's Eve.
"You won't be getting any votes down here, buddy. You're an idiot," the man shouted.
"I don't see Kirribilli burning after the fireworks," he screamed.
Morrison said on Friday he didn't take the attacks personally.
"I understand the hurt, the anger and the frustration," he said in an interview on 3AW radio.
"Whether they're angry with me or they're angry about their situation, all I know is that they're hurting and it's my job to be there to try and offer some comfort and support," he said.
Morrison had walked away from a Cobargo woman who urged him to provide more funding to the town and state firefighters.
"This is not fair. We're totally forgotten about down here. Every single time this area has a flood or a fire, we get nothing," another woman shouted as Morrison drove away.
Even a state politician from his own Liberal party whose seat is in the region took a swipe at the prime minister.
"To be honest, the locals probably gave him the welcome he probably deserved," said New South Wales transport minister Andrew Constance.
The prime minister, who won a surprise election victory last May, ended 2019 on a sour note with fires raging across 5 states while he took off on a family holiday to Hawaii. Facing criticism, he cut the holiday short and apologized for making a mistake.
He urged locals and holidaymakers, who on Thursday were forced to evacuate fire ravaged areas, to be patient, but he is facing criticism for not doing enough to fight the underlying causes of the bushfires or combating the crisis.
"The challenge now is the scale of what we're seeing across several states now. Those resources are being stretched," he said on local radio.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WELLINGTON -- Smoke from Australia's bushfires has created a haze across New Zealand thousands of kilometers away with normally white glaciers turning a shade of caramel, according to social media posts Thursday.
The acrid-smelling smoke first appeared in the country early Wednesday when in many areas the sun appeared as either a red or golden orb, depending on the thickness of the haze.
"Smoke which has traveled around 2,000km across the Tasman Sea can clearly be seen," New Zealand's official forecaster MetService tweeted.
"Visibility in the smoke haze is as low as 10km in the worst affected areas."
A Twitter user called Miss Roho tweeted: "We can actually smell the burning here in Christchurch."
Another woman, Rachel, posted a photo of the Franz Josef Glacier -- more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away -- with its usual pristine white taking on a brown hue.
"Near Franz Josef glacier. The 'caramelized' snow is caused by dust from the bushfires. It was white yesterday," she said in a post Wednesday.
Comedian Jemaine Clement posted a photo of a golden orb.
"All the way over in NZ the Australian bushfire smoke in the atmosphere giving us this strange sun," he said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SYDNEY/HONG KONG—Australians greeted the new year on Wednesday with a spectacular firework display over Sydney Harbor, despite deadly wildfires which have forced thousands to seek refuge on beaches and compelled many towns to call off their celebrations.
Hong Kong also cancelled its popular New Year's Eve fireworks in Victoria Harbor due to security concerns as pro-democracy protesters formed giant human chains and marched through shopping malls.
New Zealanders were among the first to welcome 2020, with fireworks lighting up the night sky over Auckland.
Two hours later, an estimated one million revelers gathered in Sydney Harbor to enjoy the fireworks after authorities dismissed calls by some members of the public for them to be cancelled in solidarity with fire-hit areas in New South Wales, of which the city is the capital.
Along Australia's eastern seaboard, naval vessels and military helicopters were helping firefighters to rescue thousands fleeing the wildfires that have turned swathes of New South Wales into a raging furnace.
The huge bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres), with new blazes sparked into life almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions in bushland left tinder-dry after a three-year drought.
Some tourists trapped in Australia's coastal towns posted images of blood-red, smoke-filled skies on social media. One beachfront photograph showed people lying shoulder-to-shoulder on the sand, some wearing gas masks.
The fires have killed at least 11 people since October - two of them overnight into Tuesday - and left many towns and rural areas without electricity and mobile coverage.
Defending the decision not to cancel Sydney's fireworks and reallocate funds to fire-affected regions, City of Sydney mayor Clover Moore said planning had begun 15 months ago and that the event also provided a boost to the region's economy.
Not everybody welcomed that decision.
"Is Sydney seriously still getting fireworks tonight when half our country is on fire," Twitter user @swiftyshaz13 said.
PROTESTS
In Hong Kong, rocked by months of sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations, protesters were urged to wear masks at a rally on Tuesday evening called "Don't forget 2019 - Persist in 2020", according to social media posts.
A "Symphony of Lights" was planned instead of the firework display, involving projections on the city's tallest skyscrapers after a countdown to midnight.
"This year there are no fireworks, but there will probably be teargas somewhere," said 25-year-old IT worker Sam. "For us it’s not really New Year’s Eve. We have to resist every day."
Authorities have deployed 6,000 police officers and Chief Executive Carrie Lam appealed for calm and reconciliation in her New Year's Eve video message.
The protests began in June in response to a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party, and have evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement.
Thousands of Indians also planned to greet the new year with protests, angered by a citizenship law they say will discriminate against Muslims and chip away at the country's secular constitution.
Protesters planned demonstrations in the capital New Delhi, now in the grip of its second coldest winter in more than a century, in the financial hub of Mumbai and other cities. (Reporting by bureau in Sydney, Hong Kong and New Delhi Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SYDNEY - Bushfires fanned by winds combined into a single giant blaze north of Sydney late on Friday, blanketing Australia's biggest city in hazardous smoke, causing weekend sports games to be cancelled and prompting calls for outdoor workers to stay home.
Wildfire has killed at least four people and destroyed more than 680 homes across eastern Australia since the start of November, months earlier than the usual summer bushfire season, with the authorities blaming an extended drought, strong wind and suspected arson.
Smoke and flying ash has lingered over Sydney for most of the past week, turning the daytime sky orange, obscuring visibility and prompting commuters to wear breathing masks. Satellite images spread on social media showed the smoke spreading across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away.
"The massive #NSW fires are in some cases just too big to put out at the moment," wrote the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in a post on its official Twitter account.
Sydney is the capital city in New South Wales state.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) said in a tweet that "a number of fires in the Hawkesbury, Hunter and Central Coast areas have now joined." The tweet included a map showing 10 separate fires connecting about 50 kilometers north of metropolitan Sydney.
The total area burnt by those fires was around 335,000 hectares, or 830,000 acres, the RFS added.
RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities were particularly concerned the fires may spread east.
"They have the potential or are expected to spread further east, which unfortunately is getting into more populated areas, villages, communities, isolated rural areas, and other farming practices and businesses throughout the region," Fitzsimmons told reporters in Sydney.
About 500 homes in coastal communities around 350 kilometers south of Sydney had lost electricity to fire and repair workers were unable to start restoring power until the area was declared safe, energy provider Endeavour Energy said in a tweet. "Affected customers should consider alternative accommodation until their power is back."
Sporting body Cricket NSW urged clubs to consider cancelling weekend games due to poor air quality.
"We appreciate this may mean some finals are not played and players may be disappointed, however, the welfare of our cricket communities is our number one priority," Cricket NSW CEO Lee Germo said in a statement.
Australia's worst bushfires on record destroyed thousands of homes in Victoria state in February 2009, killing 173 people and injuring 414 more.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MELBOURNE -- Rising temperatures, lightning strikes and gusty winds further raised fire danger on both coasts of Australia on Sunday as the country already battles more than 120 bushfires and firefighters work day and night trying to contain them.
Western Australia declared catastrophic fire ratings for four of the state regions as temperatures were set to rise well above 40°Celsius on Sunday.
Although the regions are thinly populated, the highest warning means that any fires that start are likely to be so devastating that even the most prepared properties may not survive it.
Australia's bushfires are a common and deadly threat but the early outbreak this year in the southern spring has already claimed several lives and destroyed hundreds of homes.
Queensland authorities issued emergency warnings for part of the state, where nearly 70 fires were burning early on Sunday.
"Today is another day for severe and extreme fire danger," Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said on Twitter. "Please, remain vigilant."
In New South Wales, where 303 homes have been lost in the past week and which saw its first-ever catastrophic fire rating issued for Sydney on Tuesday, there were 56 fires burning across the state with nearly half yet to be contained, NSW Rural Fire Services said.
"Crews overnight undertook backburning behind properties due to forecast elevated fire dangers today," the fire services said on Twitter.
"This important work will continue as conditions allow throughout the day."
Back burns are fires deliberately lit to clear dry undergrowth to protect properties and keep the fire from spreading.
Conditions are expected to further worsen for most of Australia's east coast as of Tuesday as temperatures are set to rise amid continued dry conditions.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SYDNEY - The death toll from devastating bushfires in eastern Australia has risen to four after a man's body was discovered in a scorched area of bushland, police said Thursday.
Residents found the body outside the New South Wales town of Kempsey, one of several areas hit by bushfires in recent days.
Police said formal identification was yet to take place but it was believed to be the body of a 58-year-old man who lived in a shed. He was last seen on Friday.
Three others have perished in bushfires in New South Wales, the state worst affected by fires that broke out along the eastern seaboard late last week.
Hundreds of houses have been damaged or destroyed and more than one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land burnt in the blazes.
Tough conditions were expected to flare again in Queensland and New South Wales at the weekend as the temperature rises and winds pick up.
More than 100 blazes were burning on Thursday but a respite from "catastrophic" conditions has seen the danger from many fires downgraded and residents returning to sift through the remains of their homes.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SYDNEY -- At least two people have died and 100 homes have been destroyed as an unprecedented number of bushfires tore through eastern Australia Saturday.
New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian also said seven people were unaccounted for, as firefighters tried to contain dozens of out-of-control blazes that have raged in the state since Friday.
"I'm sorry to say that number can increase during the day," she said of the death toll, adding that despite some respite Saturday, next week's weather forecast "could mean we're not through the worst of it."
Emergency services said they had found the remains of one person in a car and another woman died despite medics struggling for several hours to save her.
"At this stage, it appears at least 100 homes have been destroyed in yesterday's bush fires," the fire service said in an update early Saturday.
More than 30 people have been injured, most of them firefighters.
Almost 100 blazes pockmarked the New South Wales and Queensland countryside -- although just five of them remained highly dangerous.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the large number of fires was "incredibly concerning." He urged residents to "stay safe" and "listen to emergency services."
"I'm getting regular updates and we stand ready to offer any assistance needed," he tweeted.
Firefighters had warned they were in "uncharted territory" as they deployed 1,200 firefighters and 70 aircraft across a roughly 1,000-kilometer stretch of the seaboard.
Bushfires are common in Australia and a vast corps of firefighters had already been tackling sporadic blazes for months in the lead-up to the southern hemisphere summer.
But this is a dramatic start to what scientists predict will be a tough fire season ahead -- with climate change and unfavourable weather cycles helping create a tinderbox of strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures.
While conditions eased markedly in some areas and the forecast was downgraded from "extreme" to "high" or "very high" Saturday, a total fire ban remained in place in many areas and further high winds were predicted.
'We can't get to everyone'
Firefighters had described the conditions Friday as "difficult" and "dangerous".
"Unfortunately, many people have called for help but due to the size and speed of the fires we couldn't get to everyone, even by road or helicopter," New South Wales firefighters said.
In some areas, residents were stuck and told to simply "seek shelter as it is too late to leave."
Local radio stopped normal programming and provided instructions about how to try to survive fires if trapped at home or in a vehicle.
Across the central coast smoke could be seen billowing high into the sky and residents took to social media to post photos and videos of smoke-laden tangerine skies and flames engulfing stories-tall eucalypts within sight of their homes.
Authorities said some of the fires were creating their own weather conditions -- pyrocumulus clouds that enveloped entire towns.
Meanwhile, high winds flung embers and burnt debris far ahead of the fires' front lines, depositing the dangerous detritus on the balconies and front yards of unsuspecting residents.
Despite easing conditions, a prolonged drought and low humidity levels will continue to make circumstances combustible.
Earlier this month some of the same fires cloaked Sydney in hazardous smoke for days, giving the city a higher concentration of particles per million than cities like Bangkok, Jakarta or Hong Kong.
Swathes of Australia have gone months without adequate rainfall, forcing farmers to truck in water at exorbitant cost, sell off livestock or leave their land to lay fallow.
On Wednesday, Morrison's climate-skeptic government announced a package of low-cost loans worth around A$1 billion (US$690 million), designed to help drought-stricken farmers struggling with the latest "big dry."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
