Australians on edge as heatwave, fires, cyclone brew
One heat wave has two states on high alert for wildfires, while another braces for a tropical cyclone to make landfall.
A total fire ban was declared in South Australia and Victoria on Saturday, with temperatures in the coming days set to reach those recorded in the Black Summer of 2019-20.
SA’s Yorke and East Eyre peninsulas face catastrophic fire danger, making it almost impossible to control fires if they break out.
SA Country Fire Brigade chief Brett Loughlin has warned that major fires will test the state’s firefighting capabilities.
“Not everyone will see a fire truck in these situations, not every call to triple zero will get the response you would normally see,” he told reporters.
Temperatures in Victoria are expected to be recorded between 38°C and 44°C statewide, with winds expected to reach speeds of 70km per hour in some areas.
The mercury in Adelaide is expected to peak at 43C, while Melbourne is expected to reach 40C.
Matches at the Australian Open on the four largest courts will start an hour early to beat the hot weather. The Tour Down Under’s iconic Willunga Hill stage was canceled due to bushfire danger.
Bushfires at Walwa and Dargo in north-east Victoria, which broke out in scorching conditions on January 9, are still burning with caution and caution.
Victoria CFA chief Jason Heffernan said there was potential for new fires to start and spread rapidly under forecast conditions.
“We recognize it’s a long weekend and many Victorians will be having a great time outdoors,” he said.
“But we will be declaring a total fire ban several times throughout this heatwave event, which will bring shared responsibility.”
Shallow winds will bring some relief to south-east Australia on Saturday afternoon and the mercury will rise again from Monday.
Parts of Victoria will approach 50C on Tuesday, with a top temperature of 48C expected at Ouyen, about 400km northwest of Melbourne.
That’s 0.8 degrees shy of the state temperature record set on 2009’s Black Saturday.
There are moderate fire danger ratings across inland NSW, with extreme temperatures expected in the Northern Slopes and Central Ranges from Monday.
Temperatures in Dubbo next week will be in the low to mid 40s, with similar conditions across the regions.
People in a remote area east of the Western Australian town of Mandurah were told to flee on Friday evening as bushfires burned at emergency levels.
Off the coast of northern Western Australia, a tropical low was forecast to develop into a category one tropical cyclone.
It will be named Tropical Cyclone Luana and is expected to intensify into category two before passing between Broome and Kuri Bay on Saturday morning.
Communities in the warning area were told to prepare for potential winds of up to 130 km/h, heavy rain, flash flooding and dangerous storm tides.
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