Australia bushfires: tens of thousands stranded while attempting to flee

Tens of thousands of people remained stranded on Thursday evening while attempting to flee bushfire-ravaged areas of the south-east Australian coast – having earlier been urged to leave before the return of extreme and dangerous weather conditions.

The mass evacuation of communities in New South Wales and Victoria is among the largest ever emergency movements of people in Australia. The numbers fleeing the bushfire crisis remain unclear, but are expected to compare to the 60,000 people who were flown out of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

Evacuation plans for #Mallacoota are underway, as #YourADF works with emergency services to prepare transferring people to HMAS Choules tomorrow AM.

Commanding Officer of Choules, CMDR Houlihan, led the ADF team onshore today to provide timely and relevant support. pic.twitter.com/ecphjfLg9f

— Linda Reynolds (@lindareynoldswa) January 2, 2020

Monaro Hwy from Cooma to Canberra. Drive carefully folks. pic.twitter.com/Ltbd5xjU9o

— Prof Jodie Bradby (@JodieBradby) January 1, 2020

#rosedale pic.twitter.com/THt6yCMmCk

— mia (@mia49929232) January 1, 2020

Read more here