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| Australia fires live: 17 missing in Victoria bushfires as tourists told to evacuate NSW south coast – latest | Australia fires live: 17 missing in Victoria bushfires as tourists told to evacuate NSW south coast – latest |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| At least 10 people have died since Christmas Day, and the RFS is urging people to evacuate the New South Wales south coast before dangerous conditions on the weekend. Follow the live news and latest updates today | At least 10 people have died since Christmas Day, and the RFS is urging people to evacuate the New South Wales south coast before dangerous conditions on the weekend. Follow the live news and latest updates today |
| Brendan, a Mallacoota resident, has been tirelessly tweeting out info from the isolated town the last few days. | |
| Trapped residents and visitors have just had a community briefing, after the arrival of defence forces this morning. The response is being coordinated by police, supplemented by the CFA and other services. | |
| Brendan said there were thousands of people crammed in the community hall, with speakers set up outside for those who couldn’t get in. | |
| These are his notes: | |
| CFA providing an update on the fire situation. Same info as available on VicEmergency app. Some concern about hot and windy weather changes in the next several days. | |
| Mallacoota-Genoa road still blocked with trees. Very dangerous to start clearing now. Will take some time to open. | |
| ADF people and aircraft are here. 2 x CFA strike teams still here. Third coming in by water tomorrow. | |
| Confirms no active fire fronts nearby but spot fires are still happening. | |
| Police back on now. Say road to the tip is clear. Waste collection is a priority. Still working on solving the petrol shortage. | |
| Police sergeant reading the emergency information sent to people’s phones. Only Telstra phones are working so many missed it. | |
| Emphasising that this is *not* a compulsory evacuation, but optional. Looks like evac by boat will be available for anyone if they want it. | |
| Personal belongings on the evac would be limited to carry-on size. Police remaining in town to secure remaining houses and vehicles. | |
| Giggles in the hall as the ADF say boarding would have to be by rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship (seriously) followed by angry shushing. | |
| Unclear what will happen to people offloaded are the evac destination. | |
| Community offering private boats to help load people. ADF day they have it under control. Can load very quickly themselves. Asked private boats to stay out of the way. | |
| Evac destination stated to be Westernport but may change. | |
| ADF and police are focusing on getting people registered to evac so they can scope the effort. Nothing else to report at this time. | |
| Briefing opened by local police senior sergeant but interrupted because speakers outside aren’t working. | |
| Evac voyage estimated to be 20hrs travel time. | |
| The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says 17 people are now unaccounted for across the state as more than 50 fires continue to burn. One person is confirmed dead in Victoria. | |
| In NSW, the RFS confirms the number of homes lost since New Year’s Eve now stands at 382. Overall, nearly 1,300 homes have been lost. | |
| Authorities in NSW order holidaymakers to evacuate the south coast area. That prompts long lines at local supermarkets and lengthy delays for those looking to refuel their cars, while many communities are still without power. | |
| The Kosciuszko national park has been evacuated, as have other nearby smaller communities such as Tumbarumba. | |
| Between 3,000 and 4,000 people remain trapped in the town of Mallacoota, on Victoria’s eastern tip. Locals and tourists say food and water is running low, and police boats have been ferrying supplies into the town. HMAS Choules, and another smaller naval boat, have arrived off the coast of Mallacoota. About 500 people will be evacuated by sea tomorrow morning. | |
| Late last night, police confirmed a woman feared missing at Conjola Park had been found safe. In total, nine people have died in bushfires across NSW and Victoria. | |
| Just to recap a few important points that might have been lost given this latest media briefing in Victoria and Scott Morrison’s press conference in Sydney. | |
| My colleague Ben Smee pointed out earlier that police are turning around traffic at Milton, north of Ulladulla in NSW. This effectively cuts the Princes Highway and the key northbound route from the south coast to Sydney, Ben says. | |
| We’ve also learned the entire Kosciuszko national park has been evacuated. | |
| And as we just heard, HMAS Choules should leave Mallacoota with evacuees tomorrow morning. | |
| In the past 24 hours, there have been another 11 new fires, mostly in the Upper Murray area, due to lightning strikes. | |
| The isolated communities that are being discussed are in the Ovens Valley and Buckland Valley, we’re told. | The isolated communities that are being discussed are in the Ovens Valley and Buckland Valley, we’re told. |
| “There are some communities and small towns in this area that have one road in and one road out. | “There are some communities and small towns in this area that have one road in and one road out. |
| “It’s very easy to become an isolated community and particularly with the fire in the landscape that we have now, not only do we not want you to be isolated but we don’t want more Victorians to face some of the conditions that people have faced over these last few days in communities.” | “It’s very easy to become an isolated community and particularly with the fire in the landscape that we have now, not only do we not want you to be isolated but we don’t want more Victorians to face some of the conditions that people have faced over these last few days in communities.” |
| On the question of those in other isolated communities, authorities say they are working as hard as possible to get people out before Saturday’s predicted extreme fire danger. | On the question of those in other isolated communities, authorities say they are working as hard as possible to get people out before Saturday’s predicted extreme fire danger. |
| “The things that are stopping it are things like the conditions and the fire and the landscape,” an official says. “As soon as it is humanly possible, we will get those things to those people. I want to assure the community that we are doing everything we can to support you and we will continue to support you.” | “The things that are stopping it are things like the conditions and the fire and the landscape,” an official says. “As soon as it is humanly possible, we will get those things to those people. I want to assure the community that we are doing everything we can to support you and we will continue to support you.” |
| However, it sounds like there is no guarantee they’ll be able to do this. | However, it sounds like there is no guarantee they’ll be able to do this. |
| We’re told that there are still between 3,000-4,000 people at Mallacoota. | We’re told that there are still between 3,000-4,000 people at Mallacoota. |
| A reporter asks what the message is to those who will remain in Mallacoota after tomorrow morning. She notes many people will have to stay there. | A reporter asks what the message is to those who will remain in Mallacoota after tomorrow morning. She notes many people will have to stay there. |
| “We won’t be able to get everyone out in one go but we are working as hard as we can with our colleagues from the defence force to extricate those that can be extricated,” the police official says. | “We won’t be able to get everyone out in one go but we are working as hard as we can with our colleagues from the defence force to extricate those that can be extricated,” the police official says. |
| “We are working very hard to open the roads as soon as we possibly can because if we can extricate people via road that is a great option for us. That takes time, given the huge area that we are talking about that is either burning or burnt.” | “We are working very hard to open the roads as soon as we possibly can because if we can extricate people via road that is a great option for us. That takes time, given the huge area that we are talking about that is either burning or burnt.” |