“As bad as it gets”: Catastrophic conditions forecast for NSW and QLD bushfires
With three people dying and 200 homes and sheds being lost to bushfires over the weekend in NSW and QLD, experts have warned that the worst is still yet to come.
Firefighters are on the front-line battling blazes in both states, with residents in parts of Western Australia also being on high alert with “extreme fire danger” forecasted for the South Interior.
There are also catastrophic conditions predicted for the Greater Sydney and the Greater Hunter areas tomorrow.
Anthony Clark from the RFS has said that the situation would 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 to news.com.au.
It's been a weekend of destruction and devastation across NSW in the midst of a bushfire emergency but this morning we're being warned the worst is yet to come. #9News pic.twitter.com/uiWr7IYpKR
— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) 10 November 2019
Meteorologist Ben Domensino has said that a mass of hot air is moving to the east from Western Australia.
“It is elevating fire danger ratings in South Australia and parts of Victoria today on Monday, then on Tuesday, the threat will shift and focus into NSW and Wednesday, it pushes further north,” he said.
“So that’s why we’re seeing these danger ratings in South Australia elevated fire danger ratings across multiple states on multiple days.
“The drought’s been widespread and in some places record breaking.
“We have known this has been coming for months because we’ve had this dry weather leading up to the hottest time of year.
“Now we’re seeing the winds increasing, the temperatures increasing, which are typical of this time of year. But we don’t normally have this much fuel.
“We are seeing all of those conditions combined to create the perfect conditions for catastrophic fire danger ratings which is the highest rating on that scale and the first time it has been issued for Sydney.”
It was a devastating weekend, with 200 homes and sheds lost in QLD and NSW and three people passing away due to the bushfires. There are still 61 fires burning in NSW and 51 fires still burning in Queensland.
The RFS site has warned that those with a “catastrophic” rating that “leaving early is the only option”.
“Leave bushfire prone areas the night before or early in the day – do not just wait and see what happens,” the RFS site says. “Homes are not designed to withstand fires in catastrophic conditions so you should leave early.”
- For bushfire updates in NSW, go to the NSW RFS website.
- For bushfire updates in QLD, go to the QLD RFS website.
- For bushfire updates in Western Australia, go to the Emergency WA website.