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Australia fires: Holidaymakers flee to water as blaze hits town Australia fires: Thousands flee to the sea as fires race to coast
(about 2 hours later)
Thousands of people have fled into the water at a beachside town in Australia to seek shelter from a massive bushfire bearing down on the area. Thousands of people in Australia have fled to the seafront to seek shelter from massive bushfires racing to the coast.
Residents said the blaze moved into the Victorian town of Mallacoota on Tuesday morning, throwing embers towards homes. One blaze moved into the Victorian town of Mallacoota on Tuesday morning, throwing embers towards homes.
Online, people reported the "roar" of the fire and posted pictures of a black and then deep-red sky. Locals described a "terrifying experience" of camping on wharves and boarding boats under blood-red skies.
Several popular holiday spots along the coast between Sydney and Melbourne are currently under threat from bushfires. Several holiday spots along the coast between Sydney and Melbourne are currently cut off by fire fronts.
The most serious "emergency-level" blazes span a 500km (310 miles) stretch from Batemans Bay in New South Wales (NSW) to Bairnsdale in Victoria. More than a dozen "emergency-level" blazes span a 500km (310 miles) stretch across two Australian states - from Batemans Bay in New South Wales (NSW) to Bairnsdale in Victoria.
Residents in several NSW beachside communities, including Bermagui and Batemans Bay, have also been evacuated to the water. Victoria's state premier Daniel Andrews said navy ships may be called upon to provide food, water and power to the townships. The main road in the region - the Princes Highway - has been closed off.
Authorities had told people in these regions - many of them tourists - to stay put because it was too late and dangerous to evacuate. "Some of these isolated communities can be accessed by sea," he said.
The major road in the region - the Princes Highway - has been closed off. Authorities had urged people in the region - many of them tourists - to stay put because by Monday it was too late and dangerous to evacuate.
Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities held concerns for four people missing in the region. The bushfires north of these communities had escalated due to a surge in temperatures, winds, and dry lightning.
"We do have real fears for their safety. They've been in active fire environments and we can't account for them," he told reporters on Tuesday. Authorities said there were seven people missing in the region - four in Victoria and three in NSW.
What is happening in Mallacoota? "We do have real fears for their safety. They've been in active fire environments and we can't account for them," said Victoria's premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday.
"Mallacoota is currently under attack at the moment," said Victoria's state emergency commissioner Andrew Crisp on Tuesday. He reported there were "4,000 people on the beach". 'We were ready to jump into the water'
"It is pitch-black, it is quite scary... the community right now is under threat but we will hold our line and they will be saved and protected." Residents in the NSW holiday towns of Bermagui and Batemans Bay also fled on Tuesday morning to the waterfront or makeshift evacuation sites near the shore.
On social media, locals reported they had boarded small boats in the water, or had huddled in their fortified homes as the fire swept through the town. Locals told the BBC they had "bunkered in" as the front approached, raining ash on the beaches.
Crews are fighting to protect lives rather than buildings, locals said. Several homes in the town are already believed to have been destroyed. "It was bloody scary. The sky went red, and ash was flying everywhere," said Zoe Simmons in Batemans Bay.
Mr Crisp said there had been "significant property losses" across the entire East Gippsland region in the past days. In Mallacoota, one of the worst-affected spots on Tuesday, residents fled to the beach or took up shelter in fortified homes when they heard the warning siren go off at 08:00 local time.
Searing mid-40Cs heat combined with strong winds and lightning had triggered more than 200 new fires across the state in the past 24 hours. "It should have been daylight but it was black like midnight and we could hear the fire roaring," said David Jeffrey, a local business owner. "We were all terrified for our lives."
"There's a rock wall that they've built to keep back the sea, and that was where we were going to jump into the water if the radiant heat had hit," he added.
The fire swept through the town destroying numerous buildings, but was kept back from the shore by a change in wind, locals said.
Firefighters had gathered at the shore as a last line of defence.
As the crisis unfolded, Victoria's state emergency commissioner Andrew Crisp told reporters there were "4,000 people on the beach".
The state's fire service co-ordinator Steve Warrington said: "It is pitch-black, it is quite scary... the community right now is under threat but we will hold our line and they will be saved and protected."
He said there had been "significant property losses" across the entire East Gippsland region in the past days.
Searing mid-40Cs heat combined with strong winds and lightning triggered more than 200 new fires across the state in the past 24 hours.
They have fuelled the rapid expansion of existing fronts, with several blazes so large they are generating their own thunderstorms and lightning.They have fuelled the rapid expansion of existing fronts, with several blazes so large they are generating their own thunderstorms and lightning.
It is another escalation in the nation's bushfire crisis which has seen hundreds of massive blazes destroy millions of hectares in the eastern states since September.It is another escalation in the nation's bushfire crisis which has seen hundreds of massive blazes destroy millions of hectares in the eastern states since September.
At least 10 people have died, among them civilians and three volunteer firefighters.At least 10 people have died, among them civilians and three volunteer firefighters.
Firefighter deathFirefighter death
It was a "freakish weather event" that killed a volunteer firefighter on Sunday, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS). A "freakish weather event" killed a volunteer firefighter on Sunday, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).
Powerful winds near the New South Wales-Victoria border lifted his 10-tonne truck off the ground and flipped it over, the service said. Powerful winds near the NSW-Victoria border lifted his 10-tonne truck off the ground and flipped it over, the service said.
Samuel McPaul, 28, was a newlywed who was expecting his first child. Samuel McPaul, 28, was a newlywed who was expecting his first child. Two other firefighters were also injured and suffered burns.
Earlier in December, two volunteer firefighters died while battling a blaze near Sydney.
"To lose one of our own in such extraordinary circumstances is just tragic," said RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons of the latest death."To lose one of our own in such extraordinary circumstances is just tragic," said RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons of the latest death.
Mr McPaul died at the scene, while the driver received minor burns and a third person suffered more serious burns. Earlier in December, two volunteer firefighters died when a tree fell on their truck as they headed to a blaze near Sydney.
A second vehicle was also blown over in the same area and the firefighters on board were taken to hospital, the service said. Temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in every state and territory at the start of the week, with strong winds and lightning strikes bolstering the flames.
Meteorologists say a climate system in the Indian Ocean, known as the dipole, is the main driver behind the extreme heat in Australia.Meteorologists say a climate system in the Indian Ocean, known as the dipole, is the main driver behind the extreme heat in Australia.
Temperatures exceeded 40C (104F) in every state at the start of the week, with strong winds and lightning strikes bolstering the flames.
Have you been told to evacuate? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Have you been told to evacuate? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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